


Broken Ectoplasm

by ghostanimal



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Broken, DannyMay, Dannymay 19, Ectoplasm, Father-Son Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, and that's the closest the archive warning possibility gave me, but there is graphic injury description, no actual graphic depictions of violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2020-05-12 14:30:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 38,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19231012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostanimal/pseuds/ghostanimal
Summary: Jack came to a disturbing conclusion about the ghostly teen laying in his son’s bed. Somebody had tried to skin Phantom. But who? And why? Dannymay 2019 themed story





	1. Ectoplasm

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Dannymay 2019, originally posted to tumblr, for day 4 (ectoplasm) and day 7 (broken). People seemed to really like it there so I cleaned it up a bit and added a bit more to post here and ffn. There's no current plan to continue it, but if there's interest I'm willing to see what I can do.

It was like there was a ghost murder in his home.

Could ghosts even be murdered? Jack wasn't sure, but the amount of ectoplasm everywhere unnerved him a bit, especially given Maddie's absence for the week, on a college tour with Jazz.

The man had stepped into his home with a bag of parts for the newest Fenton gadget in a bag clutched in his right hand. Balanced in his other hand was some pizza for him and Danny, a DVD rental on top. It was old fashioned, sure, but Jack was hoping that Danny would appreciate the gesture and have interest in watching the DVD with him over some pizza. Some good father/son time.

Nothing had seemed out of place in the beginning. Jack managed to open the door with his pizza-less hand, and he closed the door behind him. It was still pretty bright out, and so the lights shining in through the windows made it unnecessary for him to feel as if he had to fumble for a switch just yet. He navigated to the kitchen just fine. He used the pizza box, pushing it against the wall to turn the light on, and that's when he had first noticed all the ectoplasm.

All over the floor, the soft glowing green lit up his kitchen floor, going from somewhere in his house into the basement. The pure amount of the ghostly blood chilled Jack, and he felt cold. Whether it was the actual presence of a ghost, or knowing that a ghost was in his home, he wasn't sure. There was so much ectoplasm. Was it trying to get home to the Ghost Zone through his portal?

He stepped forward, putting his stuff on the kitchen table as he began to inspect the ectoplasm left behind. Curiously, it didn't seem as thought a fight had happened. Nothing seemed out of place as if two ghosts were struggling. No knocked over appliances, no ectoplasm on the walls or splattered anywhere. There was only one set of footprints. Not that it mattered. Ghosts could fly. Wait, they could fly. Why was this ghost walking, dragging, his feet through his home?

Speaking of those prints, they were distinct. A boot, familiar but not a shoe Jack could immediately identify. But it haunted him to realize that this ghost wasn't going towards his basement. To Jack's horror, it was going further into his home.

But why? What the hell happened?

Jack looked glanced around the kitchen briefly. He almost preferred that a ghost fight had happened. A ghost fight happening within a civilian home he could understand. This? A ghost going away from the Ghost Zone? That was something Jack just couldn't explain. He decided to follow the trail, slowly and daring to not make a sound.

It went into the hallway. Even more ectoplasm, but this time it was more than just a trail. It was on the wall, in the form of a clear handprint. This ghost could barely walk. They must be too weak to fly. The handprint jumped a foot or so for a while until this trail went to the stairs, and ectoplasm followed the hand as it slid down. The ghost had fallen at the bottom of the stairs.

Jack felt his heart beginning to race. Where was this ghost even going? The trail didn't suddenly stop there. It continued upwards, even deeper into his home and towards where his children would be. A small surge of anger bubbled over the fear. How dare they? How dare this ghost come into his home and dare to tread this close towards his kids? He pulled out an ecto-gun, and he began to go up the stairs as quietly as he could.

The anger melted into mild concern as he took note of something. There were no more clear and distinct bootprints on the stairs. Instead, it was small indentations and handprints on the stairs, only the toes of the boot, and more ectoplasm than ever was coating the carpet. This ghost crawled up the stairs. Jack had no clue if that was a creepy, predator move or a strong sign of the injuries of the ghost.

They had to be so wounded. There was so much ectoplasm. If this was human blood, there would be a corpse at the top of the stairs. It was a concerning amount. Jack didn't think it was even possible to feel sympathy for a ghost. Not that he felt much. More than anything, he was baffled as to why an injured ghost was crawling around a ghost hunter's home. Especially up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, his stomach dropped.

The trail, an obvious continuous crawling, went straight into Danny's room. Jack rushed for the door, swinging it open with no hesitation, and he stared.

His back to the man, Phantom laid on his son's bed, shivering violently. Jack knew the familiar snow-white hair of the ghost and his form from past encounters. The ghosts were curled up, feet pulled slightly to his chest. Ectoplasm had stained the planetary sheets terribly, ectoplasm dripping off and collecting in a puddle around the bed. Jack turned the light on, and he took a few steps forward. Phantom didn't turn to face him, just continuing to shake. There was no way that Phantom did not hear him. The ghost hunter was never really known for stealthy attacks. Jack checked his ecto-gun, and he kept a finger on the trigger. Just in case.

"Phantom," he spoke boldly and assertive, stepping forward more.

Instead of any real response, he got a sickening gurgle noise in response. The source of the ectoplasm had been from Phantom. Obviously, but another step forward, and Jack took in a haunting realization. Phantom's jumpsuit had been cut partly away, and his back was exposed. It was covered in ectoplasm.

"Phantom!" Jack barked, becoming irked by the lack of real response.

But yet he was afraid. Why was he here? And shivering?

He ignored the fear as he came to the ghost's side. Surprisingly, the ectoplasm on Phantom's back wasn't from wounds on his back. He must have gotten it from laying in his own ectoplasm, as it looked dry and stuck to him. His chest and stomach told another story.

Painful looking burns and cuts were all over him. Some cuts were random, but one cut in particular caught Jack's eye due to the sicking fact that it stood for and due to it being the obvious source of all the ectoplasm. It was a long, shallow cut from the throat to the lower stomach, and somebody had begun the process of peeling away the skin. Somebody had tried to skin Phantom.

His eyes locked with Phantom's, and he wished they hadn't. He looked terrified and distressed, like a trapped and hunted animal with a lot of tears. Was this the Guys in White? No…his heroes weren't known for doing this. Why would they skin a ghost? That was so unnecessarily...cruel. Even if ghosts didn't feel pain. There was no scientific reason to skin a ghost that he could think of. Not when they could look at you like that.

Phantom's mouth opened to speak, but all that came out was ectoplasm and bubbled garbles. Some ectoplasm leaked out of Phantom's mouth from the corners, slowly dripping down. The skinning attempt must have punctured his throat, but his jaw looked…crushed and dislocated. His throat had bruising too. What the fuck happened to him? Phantom closed his eyes a bit, and more tears were falling. Ghosts didn't feel pain.

Or at least…they really shouldn't.

Sympathy hit Jack like a truck. He instantly shushed Phantom in a soft, soothing tone. His ecto-gun was placed on Danny's nightstand, temporarily forgotten. His free hand went to the teen's hair, lightly stroking it comfortingly. Phantom, oddly enough, seemed to instantly relax, laying back and closing his eyes fully. Ghost or not, this level of violence disturbed Jack than he had expected it to.

"I, uh, think I have something that might…dull the pain," Jack told him quietly. "Then I'll see what I could do." Phantom opened his eyes, and he looked puzzled. His mouth opened, and his jaw slacked, more ectoplasm oozing out as he coughed and garbled, trying to speak. Jack lightly shushed him again. "Just…try to rest."

Phantom didn't try to talk anymore, his eyes just flickering shut once more. His chest didn't move. Normal behavior, for a ghost, but to see Phantom laying so statue-like was spooky. He looked truly dead, especially with how pale the normally tanned and energetic the teen looked in comparison. Regardless, he felt compelled to shift Phantom's head properly onto a pillow, as well as pull an extra blanket over him. Phantom didn't move or make any sounds. It was creepy.

Jack stepped into the hallway, and a reminder of just how much ectoplasm was all over his home, and how Phantom was crawling up the stairs, hit him. Why did he come here?

He began to slowly descent down, and he pulled out his phone. He hit Maddie's name, and he anxiously waited for her voice. He rounded the corner and into the kitchen. He paused for a moment as he looked around. Cleaning this place up was going to be a nightmare. Whenever Danny got home, he'd have him get started.

Jack opened the door to his basement, and he felt his stomach twist a bit. He could tell Phantom walked up these stairs. But unlike the other stairs, there was no evidence of him needing to crawl. No handprints on the wall from him struggling to stand or walk. But there was still plenty of ectoplasm, enough that it was still actively dripping down the stairs and was nearly impossible for Jack to walk around. He had to settle for carefully walking through it.

Maddie's voice finally came through, and Jack immediately spoke before she could greet him.

"Hey Mads. Sorry, this is kind of important, so I hate to cut you off, but I have, a uh, kind of weird question. It comes with a long explanation that I'm not sure if I have time for? Phantom's upstairs in Danny's room, he's uh, kinda got, uh, ectoplasm. Everywhere. He seems hurt really bad. I…I kind of want to help him. What should I do?"


	2. Broken

"Hey Mads. Sorry, this is kind of important, so I hate to cut you off, but I have, a uh, kind of weird question. It comes with a long explanation that I'm not sure if I have time for? Phantom's upstairs in Danny's room, he's uh, kinda got, uh, ectoplasm. Everywhere. He seems hurt really bad. I…I kind of want to help him. What should I do?"

Maddie was absolutely floored by her husband's sympathy towards a ghost. The Fenton had taken the call away from the tour group, sitting on a bench while her daughter was enthusiastically continuing with the others. Jazz glanced back at her mom, jerking her thumb at the group. Maddie mouthed 'important' to her, and Jazz nodded. She made the motion to call her, and she walked away.

"Jack, you're talking about helping Amity Park's number one enemy," she told him.

She was certain he was taken over by one of those filthy monsters. This was too out of character for him, to have such a heart for a ghost. Especially their enemy. But they had prepared for this kind of thing. Ever since the mass overshadowing and infestation, she and Jack had many talks.

"Five nine six," Maddie tested him. Their wedding anniversary, the first half of Jazz's birthday.

"Twenty-five four three," Jack finished seamlessly, and this baffled Maddie even more. The rest of Jazz's birthday and then Danny's. "Mads, I know how this sounds. I just…"

She heard a long exhale on the other end, as well as some mild background russling. Not anything violent, but like Jack was when searching for something. Something must have really rattled him, and she grew sympathetic as she leaned back on the bench.

"Jack, what happened?" she asked softly. Jack was quiet for a while.

"I don't know. There's just…there's so much ectoplasm. He's so hurt. I don't know why he came here, but he went into Danny's room." Maddie bit back a sharp, angry tort about her thoughts on that. That disgusting ghost in her baby's private space. "And I just found him in the bed. He looked like somebody was trying to skin him." This twisted any negative feelings into mild horror.

"Skin him?" she questioned, floored by such a concept. Dissection was one thing. That was scientific. Skinning…you did that to an animal. "What on earth happened to him? What did he tell you?"

"His jaw's very broken," Jack continued, and Maddie could hear his voice breaking a bit. "He can't even talk. Just looking at it, it looks like a mess. He looks like he's in so much pain, and he was crying. The noises, Mads. He can't talk, he's just making this awful choking sound, like he's gargling water. He looks just like Danny."

Ah, so that's it. Phantom, intention or not, was tugging at her soft husband's heartstrings. A teen boy, about their son's age, so hurt and laying in his room. Laying on their son's bed, probably curled up to imitate a scared child. It was likely intentional, a way for him to get help by preying on the emotions of the probably sole people in town who could treat such injuries for a ghost. She found it logical, and very clever of him to do. Absolutely disgusting that he would do such a thing, but it was indeed, an incredibly smart move on his part.

"But he's not Danny," she replied gently. "He's just a ghost."

"I know, I know." Jack was sounding more and more choked up, and Maddie can only imagine how terrible the sight had been to affect him like this. Nothing like this typically got to Jack. Jack took pride in dissecting ghosts, and he was so passionate about his work. "I just, I need to do this. I can't explain it, but I need to. But I don't know what to do."

She hated the idea of doing this. But Jack, despite how…overly trusting he could be, did have good judgement. And this was hurting him. Phantom was a ghost, but she could see the benefits of helping him. Information, trust, and more could play their valuable role if she did this. Plus it was a good chance to get a sense of his anatomy, how and why he was so different from other ghosts. Whoever skinned him was skinning him for a reason. Ghosts didn't really exhibit that kind of behavior normally.

"We're almost done with the college tour," Maddie told him gently. "It'd only take us about three hours to drive back. Why don't you get Phantom comfortable, give him some pain medicine. Clean up the best you can, do the stitches if needed, and when I get home, we can work on seeing what we could do for his jaw. Then tomorrow I'll keep an eye on him, and you can take Jazz to do the rest of her college tour." Jack's mood instantly lifted, and he gave the biggest sigh of relief that she had ever heard.

"Thank you," he perked up. "I love you. Please call me when you're on your way."

"I love you too, and I will. See you in a few hours."


	3. Glass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may on and off update this with chapters related to the Dannymay 2019 themes, since I never properly finished it. No clue how many there will be or how well they'd actually even relate but here's Day 30: Glass

"I love you too, and I will. See you in a few hours."

Jack felt that statement echo in his mind as he stared at Phantom as the ghost slept surprisingly peacefully.

The first order of business had been to give Phantom some pain relief, a strong course of pain relievers mixed with a mild sedative. The ghost had passed out nearly instantly, and Jack would have thought that he would have gotten to work cleaning up the house while Phantom slept. But he didn't.

Phantom still slept in the same position, not tossing and turning, though he no longer resembled a dead statue. Still pale and with some beads of sweat from lingering pain, Phantom had actually begun a breathing pattern after he had curled into the blanket, which unnerved the ghost hunter badly. His fingers wrapped into the blanket, not caring about where he laid. Jack couldn't leave him like that.

He ended up pulling out the couch, setting down extra towels to prevent having to deep clean it later just in case. Extra cushions, extra pillows, extra blankets. Jack cleaned Phantom up the best he could. He had jerked awake when Jack finished cutting off the top part of his jumpsuit and used a damp clothe to wipe away ectoplasm. Phantom said nothing and made no noises outside an occasional small wheeze, often dozing off and spazzing awake as he sleepily stared at Jack. Jack wrapped a bandage around Phantom, put one of Danny's old shirts on him and carried him downstairs to rest on the couch. A bit hauntingly, the shirt had fitted perfectly and Phantom had surprisingly relaxed well on the new, clean bed.

Jack stared at him from his seat on the living room chair. He couldn't bring himself to clean up the house. Whenever Danny got home, he'd have him begin on it. Wherever he was.

He checked his phone. Once more, Danny was not answering his phone nor responded to any texts or called back or anything. Normally, he could shrug it off. Danny was always bad at answering his phone and was always late. But today was different, and he couldn't shake off a bad feeling. Maybe it was the situation creating more tension than normal. Maybe it was this crime scene in his house and knowing that it could happen to anyone, including the son he'd likely become worried too late over if something were to happen. Jack momentarily traded in his worry and concern for Phantom in for his son as he called Danny once more. The phone rang.

And rang.

And rang.

_"Hey, this is Danny Fenton. Leave a message. Beep!"_ his son's voicemail cheerfully spoke. Jack's throat was dry. He didn't need this much to worry about today.

"Danny, this is Dad. Please come home soon, or at least call me back. I'm very worried about you. Let me know you're okay. Please send a text or, or call. Anything. Okay? Please. Alright, uh. Love you. I hope you're safe."

He hung up the phone, and he felt his leg nervously bounce. His eyes went to Phantom, and he was surprised to see Phantom's eyes wide and looking at him. Fearful. Worried. Why?

"I can't get in touch with my son," Jack answered the unasked question. "I'm worried."

Phantom's eyes shied away from him, and he shifted to turn onto his back. He stared up at the ceiling for a bit, and Jack spaced out. Where on Earth could Danny be? He only had two friends that he knew of. Was he with Sam? Tucker? Both? Where? Maybe he should swallow his pride and call Pamela. Danny was normally with her.

A small choking sound caught his attention, and he looked at Phantom. It sounded like Phantom was coughing, and Jack shifted in his seat.

"May want to avoid laying on your back," Jack told him hesitantly. Was it a good idea to even do that? He wasn't sure. He hoped Maddie would come home soon. "Do you want some water?"

Phantom's dulled eyes seemed to shine at him as he gave an eager nod. Jack had no clue how to react. He hesitantly stood up, and he slipped into the kitchen.

Ghost could drink water? Jack had never really thought about it. It didn't make sense, but yet it did. Anything that required energy to move and react needed something to fuel it, but out of everything, Jack never really quite expected water to be on that list for ghosts. He had never seen a ghost drink water, or even imply the need for it, in all his years.

He made mental note of it as he filled up a glass using the water option on the fridge. He reached in and grabbed himself a soda before pausing. How was Phantom going to drink? Could he even drink? Would it be safe? Jack had no clue.

The glass and soda sat on the table, and Jack began to absentmindedly dig through the drawers of his kitchen and the cabinets. Soon, he produced a straw, carrying it with the glass of water and soda into the living room.

Phantom was sitting up, likely in preparation for the drink, though he was badly slumped over, swaying a bit. He straightened up a bit when Jack entered, but he noticed that Phantom didn't turn around.

Jack set his soda down on the coffee table before moving to sit on the pull out bed with Phantom. Phantom looked at him, but Jack could immediately tell that he was spaced out and not really looking at him.

"Phantom," Jack spoke, and Phantom flinched a bit, blinking before he seemed to focus. "Do you think you can use a straw?"

Dulled green eyes stared blankly at him for a moment. Another flinch, and he blinked hard. Phantom stared at the water for a moment before his jaw twitched a bit. Jack could hear sickly grinding and crackling noises, and a painful whimper from Phantom. No, he couldn't.

"Don't worry, we'll figure something out," Jack assured him. He quickly stood and returned to the kitchen, almost in a daze.

All the ectoplasm did nothing but remind him of what Phantom probably went through, and how the ghost couldn't even tell him the situation. Jack tried to ignore it as he began to dig through drawers again. He had no clue what he was looking for. Maybe he could spoon feed him some water? Or just try to carefully pour some water, no wait!

Jack grinned triumphantly as he produced a basting tool. Yes, perfect.

He returned to the living room. Phantom was still slumped over, sitting up, his back heaving slowly and steadily. Jack walked slowly towards Phantom, moving to sit next to him again. Phantom jerked when Jack sat, blinking a bit confused. Poor kid.

Jack held up the tool as he grabbed the glass of water. Phantom visibly straightened completely, eyes glowing brightly in relief.

It was a very slow process, but Jack soon, little by little, worked with the ghost to give him the water. Slowly absorbing the water to slowly pour it into his mouth. Phantom seemed to have a little problem swallowing, but he was able to do it. That was a good sign, right? When the glass was empty, Jack set the baster inside of it and set it on the coffee table.

He jumped when he felt Phantom grab his arm. Not threateningly, and he glanced at Phantom. His eyes looked at him almost lovingly and thankful as he lightly squeezed his arm. Jack had never seen this kind of...trust from a ghost before. He trusted the Fentons enough to crawl from the person who did this to him, and he trusted Jack to care for him. Jack found himself taking Phantom's hand and lightly squeezing it as he stood up.

"Get some rest," Jack advised, and he kept holding onto Phantom hand as he helped the ghost lay back down. "Maddie will be back soon, and she can fix you up."

Phantom just gave the briefest of nods, and his eyes closed. Out like a light, Phantom kept to a human-like breathing pattern as he slept.

It was so incredibly odd. Phantom was so vulnerable, literally at the lowest Jack had ever seen him and sleeping with no cares in the world right in front of him. While Jack wasn't a stranger to seeing vulnerable ghosts in his years dissecting, researching and studying ghosts, for Phantom to allow Jack to clean up, bandage and now give him water like this was so odd. It was almost like those Youtube videos of how wild animals knew to go to humans for care.

But in a very opposite way. Jack had never been sympathetic to him before. He had no clue why Phantom thought to do this. Maybe he had no other options?

Jack stood up to grab his soda, cracking the tab and taking a drink as he looked at his phone. No new messages. No updates from Maddie, no reply from Danny, no messages from Jazz. At least he knew where Jazz was, but where was Danny? It was just the current situation, but Jack had never felt so bad and worried about Danny being out, even though it was nowhere close to curfew.

Maddie still had a while before she'd be here. Jack might as well get started on scrubbing the ectoplasm up in the kitchen.

With a last check of his phone, Jack went into the kitchen. He glanced at the table, remembering the night he had planned. His heart sank into his stomach. Where was Danny? He moved to the table, sitting in one of the chairs as he took his phone out. No sudden updates from his son. He called him again.

Ring. Ring ring. Ring. Ring ring ring ring.

_"Hey, this is Danny Fenton. Leave a message. Beep!"_ his son's voicemail cheerfully spoke once more to him, and Jack's bad feeling grew worse. He couldn't explain it at all.

"Hey, Danny. It's Dad again. You're not in trouble, I just would really like you to come home. I bought some pizza and got a movie for us to watch. But I'm also still worried. Please least let me know if you're okay. I love you. Bye."

Jack ended the call, letting his phone drop onto the table. He opened one of the boxes of pizza, taking a slice. Only one bite in, and he felt too sick to continue. Something was wrong. He could feel it stronger than ever, and he had no clue what it was.

He abandoned the pizza for now, and he went to the sink to start getting some hot water running. Under the sink was all the supplies he'd need. Ectoplasm, unfortunately, wasn't going to clean itself up.


	4. Theory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 25: Theory

Ectoplasm, unfortunately, wasn't going to clean itself up. And difficult and annoying to clean it is. If left to sit, it was tricky to fully wash ectoplasm out. Years of experience and hard lessons with favorite shirts had left Maddie retiring a typical wardrobe in favor of the easy to clean jumpsuit. The woman could only hope that her husband was actually getting to work on cleaning up the ectoplasm supposedly all over the house.

She glanced at Jazz, nose deep in a book. Maddie didn't need to look at the title to know that it was the new book about psychology of criminal behavior that Danny had gotten her.

"I'm sorry we had to leave early," Maddie broke the silence. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jazz snap her attention to her.

"Oh, it's okay," Jazz assured her. "I know how much ghost stuff means to you guys." Maddie frowned lightly.

"It is, but if it was up to me, I'd just make Phantom wait," Maddie sighed, a bit irritated. Of course, that ghost kid just seemed to do nothing but cause problems for her and her family. Always interrupting something. Always putting their lives and their town on the line. She was so sick of him.

She heard the book close, and Maddie felt Jazz's stare on her.

"It's Phantom?" Jazz asked. Her voice was so quiet, Maddie only barely heard her.

"Yes, it's Phantom," Maddie confirmed.

"Why didn't you say so?" Jazz's voice was accusatory. Maddie sighed heavily. She hated how much faith Jazz put into a supposed teen superhero. More like a phantom pain.

"Because it doesn't matter that much," Maddie lightly argued. "It's just Phantom. He apparently got into another fight, needs some help, and hopefully in exchange for helping him, your father and I can finally get some answers."

"What happened to him?" Jazz questioned. "How hurt is he? What's wrong?"

"I don't know what happened to him. But from what Dad described, it's a broken jaw." _And an attempted skinning._ But Jazz didn't need to know that. That was such a horrifying graphic detail that she didn't need to know, and a detail that disturbed Maddie more than anything.

A jaw breaking? That was a fairly normal enough outcome for a violent ghost like Phantom. A good solid hook or kick could do that. But a skinning? That spoke to such intent, such psychopathic nature. Even if Phantom was just a ghost, who would want to do that? Even her, as a woman of science, didn't understand why anybody would want to do such a thing? Despite the knowledge rattling in her mind for nearly two hours now, Maddie could not think of a single ghost hunting group that would want to skin Phantom.

"A broken jaw?" Jazz echoed. Maddie stole a glance at her. Jazz looked on the verge of tears. She had her book closed in her lap, hands wringing together. "That's awful. He must be in so much pain. And scared, if he came to you guys."

"He's a ghost," Maddie replied tiredly. "They don't feel pain. And even if they do, who cares?"

"I care!"

Maddie jumped in surprise at the shout. She glanced at Jazz again, and now she had tears freely flowing. The teen was wiping them away with the cuff of her sleeves, and she gave a sniffle. Did her daughter really care that much about a ghost? Maddie exhaled deeply.

"I know you're emotional because of the situation, and because Phantom being a supposed hero, but there's no need to shout," she lightly scolded.

"How can you just say that you don't care about if ghosts feel pain?" Jazz seemed to completely ignore Maddie's statement.

"They're not alive," Maddie argued. "They're just manifestations of ectoplasmic energy. They don't have feelings like we do, or families or lives. They're just...they're just that, honey. They're ectoplasmic energy."

"But that's not even true!" Jazz insisted. "You've seen ghosts get emotional! And they have families! Most of them were once humans, and they had families then. And they still do. Families that miss them, that visit their graves or who still mourn their loss. And they must miss them too! How can you even justify that ghosts don't have emotions when they're just ectoplasmic energy when all people are is just pounds of meat and bones?"

Maddie listened patiently to Jazz's ramble. Her grip tightened on the wheel. Jazz did have a point. A very logical sounding point, and it made sense. But it also just didn't. Ghosts didn't always have bones, nor did they really have anything such as nerves or biology close to a human that would imply that they had such an ability to express emotions the same way humans did.

"Ghosts express emotions differently than humans do," Maddie tried to explain. "And that's different than the physiology of feeling pain."

"Even if that was true, which it isn't, psychological pain can be even worse than physical!" Jazz drummed her fingers on her book impatiently. "You can't dismiss that."

Maddie simply nodded in response. She couldn't deny that. And Phantom was such an outlier to the normal. What made him so different?

"Phantom is an odd case in general," she spoke aloud, mostly to herself. "He's so different than other ghosts."

"Oh?" Jazz's interest seemed to be peaked. And to her surprise, her daughter seemed a bit nervous too. "Do you have any theories?"

Maddie gave a thoughtful hum. She had so many theories. So many possible explanations as to Phantom's odd behavior, why he seemed so different from other ghosts. Why the Guys in White seemed so interested in him, why anybody would ever want to skin him. Why Phantom just behaved so...so aggressive towards ghosts half the time.

"I got a bucket full," Maddie lightly teased. She saw Jazz crack a smile.

"What's your most promising theory?" she clarified. Most promising theory...

"Well, ghosts fit into various types of categories. You know, kind of like how we classify animals, we do the same for ghosts. And Phantom doesn't quite fit into any of them. He fits the mold for some, but not enough to specifically pinpoint what type he is," Maddie began. "His power profile from what we can gather either excludes him or his behavioral patterns don't fit. And so, in a sense, my most promising theory is that Phantom is simply a type of ghost we've never seen before. An entirely new classification of ghost."

"Oooh," Jazz made a noise of fascination, and she leaned forward to lower the gentle background hum of the radio more. "Where would you put him down at?"

"That's the trouble," Maddie explained. "I'm not quite sure where in the spectrum or within the classification he'd fall. He almost seems like...it's not an accurate term but probably the best way I can put it, he almost seems like a jack of all trades ghost. He can be arguably put into any category of ghost because he seems to have something about him that would place him there. It'd be a matter of narrowing down where he fits best, what would be the closest, and then adding on what makes him excluded. And then there's the matter of proving that there's more than one type of ghost like Phantom. That he truly is a new type of ghost, and not just one of a kind."

Jazz made an odd face that Maddie couldn't quite identify in a brief glance over to her daughter.

"So, is this what you're going to do when you're done fixing Phantom up?" Jazz questioned. "Just see where he fits?" Maddie hadn't really thought about that.

"...I suppose," she said slowly. "I'd want to talk over with your dad what we'd want in exchange for helping Phantom."

"...You can't just help him because it's the right thing to do?" Jazz asked with that distinct tone Maddie knew all too well. Maddie sighed. Oh that was a good guilt trip. Very unexpected and sneaky. "I mean, what if it was Danny who needed help? O-Or just any human. You'd do it because it was the right thing to do, not because you want a favor."

"Phantom's not human, and you can't compare him to one," Maddie spoke firmly. Jazz was quiet for a moment.

"Do...do you know how bad his jaw is?" Jazz's voice was barely audible. Maddie exhaled softly.

"I can't say for sure, but how your dad described it, it was bad." She didn't bother to sugarcoat it. He was just a ghost. Maddie could hear Jazz give a sniffle, and she could see her using her sleeve to wipe her nose. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

"...M-mom?" Jazz's voice was cracking bad. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course," Maddie instantly shifted gears. She glanced over worriedly multiple times, switching from the road and her daughter. "Honey, what's wrong?"

Jazz stared at her, looking conflicted. She sniffled again and wiped her eyes.

"...I'm...I'm just really worried about Phantom," she confessed. Maddie could feel that this wasn't what she wanted to confess, but she nodded anyway. She began to feel a bit sick to her stomach herself.

Somebody had attempted to skin Phantom. And Jazz didn't even know this. He went through a lot, and he likely had nobody truly caring about him right now. Aside from Jazz. It sparked an odd guilt in her, and she couldn't understand it.

"I know," Maddie finally told her. "Don't worry, we're halfway there. And we'll see what we can do for him."

Jazz didn't reply. She simply nodded. She opened her book, and she began to stare at the pages. Maddie stayed quiet as she focused on the road, her thoughts swirling. It was still an absolute mystery why anybody would want to skin Phantom.


	5. Community

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 22: Community

It was still an absolute mystery why anybody would want to skin Phantom. And it was all Jack could think of while scrubbing the carpet.

He made a giant mix of a laundry detergent and salt like paste to get the ectoplasm out, mixing in some water and non bleach cleaner to try and get the job done. The kitchen would be easier to clean up. He could have Jazz and Danny clean it up when they both got there, while he and Maddie tended to Phantom. For now, he wanted to get the first bit of ectoplasm out of the carpet.

Jack cracked his back as he looked at the stairs he had spent the past hour scrubbing. He could still see the faint traces of where ectoplasm was. It wasn't a perfect clean up, and he mentally calculated the cost of just ripping up the carpet and replacing it. It almost seemed easier than all of this effort. That may be nice. The carpet was getting old anyway. He'd have to ask Maddie her opinion, assuming she couldn't get the final layers of ectoplasm out.

He could hear a faint noise downstairs, and he paused. It was faint, but soon grew louder. That haunting choked gurgling sound. Jack put his cleaning supplies down at the top step, going down and peering into the living room.

Phantom was on his side, grasping a pillow to his chest and shaking hard. Despite not needing to breathe, he was hyperventilating. The ghost arched his back, making a pained groaning. Phantom's eyes locked onto Jack's, and he looked terrified. Jack came to him, putting a hand on his forehead. Phantom was hot, sweating hard.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked dumbly, wincing as all he got in response was a garble accompanied by ectoplasm leaking onto the pillow from Phantom's mouth.

A sharp gasp, and Jack had to narrow his eyes to get past a blinding light. Near Phantom's lower stomach, a blinding light kept flashing. On and off. He watched as it struggled to appear, going as far as to make a line of sorts before it ultimately folded in on itself and disappeared.

Phantom's chest heaved up and down rapidly as green eyes stared off into the ceiling blankly. Jack found himself slowly running his hand through Phantom's hair to soothe him. Slowly, Phantom's eyes began to droop as the human-like breathing pattern slowed down considerably. After a few silent moments, Phantom fell back asleep. He continued "breathing".

Jack didn't dare move away for a moment. What was that light? He had never seen such a thing before. Not around Phantom, not around any other ghost. Was it some rare ghostly behavior? What did it mean? The ghost scientist in him was becoming giddy at all the things he was already learning today: ghosts can drink water, ghosts have some sort of skeletal structure, ghosts can sleep, ghosts have this flash of light. And they can be skinned. Jack tried to ignore the last one.

With Phantom settled, he moved back up the stairs to where he left his supplies. He sighed, simply tired at the mere idea of mindlessly scrubbing at the carpets in his son's room. And the laundry. Jack went into Danny's room, looking at the mess Phantom had made. The ghost seemingly didn't touch anything in Danny's room, to Jack's relief. If Phantom had tried to snoop, it would have been much creepier. From what he could tell, he went straight for the bed. Why he didn't just crash on the couch, Jack wasn't sure.

He picked up the pillows and began to strip them of their cases, carelessly tossing the pillows to the side of the room for now. Jack began stripping the blanket and sheets when something shiny caught his eye. He paused, searching for it within the bed and feeling something hard hidden within the covers. Curiously, he began shaking the blankets until the object fell out and rolled onto the floor. He shook the blanket a little more. Something else fell out. He continued shaking, but nothing else escaped the blankets, and a quick pat down confirmed that there was nothing else there.

Jack investigated what fell out. A Fenton Thermos and a cell phone. He reached down to pick up the thermos. Maddie and him both knew Phantom had been stealing and using Fenton tech for a while. Least now was a good chance for them to finally take back some of their property. He set it on the nightstand for now.

The cellphone had a unique case he recognized instantly. A NASA case that Danny had gotten. This was Danny's phone. Clicking the home button and seeing the background of Danny with Sam confirmed it, complete with the notifications that Jack had called earlier and left messages, alongside others for social medias and texts from friends. Jack was so confused. Why did Phantom have his son's phone?

No, no. He couldn't blame Phantom for this. Could he? This was Danny's room. Of course his stuff was all over the place. Jack wouldn't be surprised if Danny straight up forgot his phone in his room before leaving. Danny always seemed to lose his phone.

Despite this line of reasoning, Jack still felt off. Something was missing and weird, but he couldn't place it. He pocketed his son's phone for now, grabbing the dirty laundry as he studied the bed, and he froze.

The mattress was covered in stains. Fresh green ectoplasm, but he could see the faded marks of somebody having tried to clean ectoplasm from the bed before. Pale brown-red stains that had been lifted as much as possible from the bed. Jack's heart sank at this. Did Maddie know? No, she refused to make the kids' beds anymore. Jazz and Danny were responsible for making their own beds. Dear God, why was there so much dried and old blood all over the bed? And ectoplasm?

Jack couldn't help but continue staring at the mess as his mind raced. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong, and the reality that he had no clue where his son was, nor could he get a hold of him, hit him like a brick wall.

He hurriedly took the sheets to the laundry room, shoving them in the washer. With a rushed laze, he eyeballed some laundry soap and cleaning supplies before turning the washer on. A check of the dryer confirmed that it was still full of laundry that needed folding. He sighed. Jack pulled out his cell phone and dialed Angela. As he waited, he began to fold and place the laundry in a basket. After a few rings, Tucker's mom answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Angela, it's Jack," Jack greeted her.

"Oh, hello, Jack, how are you?" she spoke sweet as ever.

"Not so well," Jack confessed. "Has Danny been over? Is he there now? I found his phone in his room, and I can't find him."

"No, he hasn't been here since yesterday. Tucker's here though, hold on a moment," Angela assured him. He could hear her call for her son, and the vague chatter of a brief conversation between them. Jack patiently waited as he continued to fold. "Tucker hasn't seen him since school today, but I'll give you a call if I see him."

Disappointed, Jack thanked her and moved onto Pamela.

"Hey, Pam, it's Jack," he began, and he decided to cut to the chase before she could hang up on him. "Listen, Danny's missing. I can't find him, and he left his phone at home. Has he been there?"

A pause. "No." To his surprise, Pamela actually sounded a bit concerned. "I haven't really seen him around since maybe three days ago? I know Samantha told me that she saw Danny today in school, but not really much else."

"Thanks," Jack replied half-heartedly. "Please call me if you hear from him."

"I will, of course. I hope he turns up."

Jack hung up, absolutely lost. He stared at the pile of laundry he had folded and stacked on top of the dryer. Where next? Danny didn't really have many friends outside of Tucker and Sam. Who else could he possibly be with?

He scrolled through his phone before coming upon a number. Mr. Lancer. He immediately clicked on the contact, and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Mr. Fenton?" a voice finally answered after several rings.

"Yes," Jack confirmed quickly. "Have you seen Danny?"

"Of course, he was in school today. He had detention, and he served it. For once, without incident. I suggested he go to the school library to get his homework done, and he agreed, but he was gone when I checked by an hour later," Mr. Lancer confirmed. Jack felt a small rush of excitement. It was small, but he felt like he was finally narrowing down some possibilities. "Is something wrong?"

"He's gone, and he left his phone here," Jack explained. "I can't get ahold of him, and none of his friends have seen him. I haven't seen him myself since this morning." There was a long pause from Mr. Lancer.

"Daniel was in trouble for having his cell phone out during class," Mr. Lancer finally told him. Jack had no clue how to take this information.

"He must have come home since then," Jack mused, mostly to himself. "Well, thank you. Please call me if you see him. Tell him I'm very worried, and that there's been a minor incident at home. I need him here as soon as possible."

"Will do. I heavily recommend getting the police involved if he's not home by curfew," Mr. Lancer suggested. Jack nodded, feeling his mouth dry.

"I will, of course. Thank you. Goodbye."

Feeling out of options, Jack hung up. He silently finished folding the laundry, leaving it to sit on the top of the dryer for now. He moved to go downstairs to check on Phantom.

He was still sleeping, "breathing" and looked so much paler. He fidgeted in his sleep, still sweating, and Jack could hear a soft grind whenever Phantom would give the occasional soft exhale. He wondered if Phantom would need more medicine, but he checked the time. Maddie should be here shortly, and he didn't want to risk Phantom being too out of it to talk to them.

Jack stood staring. He told himself he was just watching for the light again. Curious to understand it, but it wasn't that. Something was wrong. The feeling kept building, and it made him still unable to eat more than a slice of the cold pizza he had brought home. Even fudge didn't sound appealing.

He wished Phantom could talk, so that he could give him some answers. Why was he here? What happened to him? Why did he steal FentonWorks technology? Why was his son's phone in the bed with him? Why did he even come here in the first place? It was a confusing mystery, and Jack knew he was missing pieces but had no idea where he'd even begin hunting for them.

Jack shifted to take a seat, telling himself he needed a break from cleaning up ectoplasm. Maddie was so close to being here. She was always better at this kind of puzzle-solving, and this was one hell of a puzzle.


	6. Eavesdropping

She was always better at this kind of puzzle-solving, and this was one hell of a puzzle. Such a puzzle, in fact, that Maddie had doubts in her mind that she could even figure it out as she pulled into the FentonWorks driveway. Jazz immediately unbuckled her seatbelt and was out of the RV almost before it had fully stopped, walking quickly up to the door and opening it. Maddie took a deep breath before following, ignoring their luggage for now.

Entering the home, she noticed a strong, distinct smell. Ectoplasm, as well as cleaner. She took a few steps inside. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw green in the kitchen, and she poked her head in. Ectoplasm all over the floor. She frowned.

"Jack?" Maddie called out.

"Living room," Jack replied. Maddie followed the voice to the living room, and she took in the scene.

Jack was sitting in the living room armchair, looking tired and sullen while drinking some soda. Jazz was on her knees next to the couch near Phantom's face. Her face was twisted up as she was struggling to not cry. Maddie found it so odd how...emotional she was for a ghost. Teenagers. Even though Jazz has never been that emotional of a teenager.

"Where's Danny?" Maddie asked. Jack gave a half-hearted shrug, and she noticed Jazz tense up.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I tried calling him, but I didn't get any replies. I left messages, and I called Pam and Angela. They haven't seen him since school let out. Mr. Lancer too." Maddie's curiosity for Phantom was instantly overwhelmed by worry and concern for her son.

"That's so strange," Maddie mused. "But this isn't unusual for him either. I'm sure he'll be home soon." Despite her own words, she didn't seem very convinced. Jack simply nodded. "Why don't you fill me in on the situation?" Her eyes darted to her daughter, still by the ghost boy's side. Jack had copied her actions. Jazz didn't need to hear this.

"In the kitchen," he agreed, and he stood up.

Maddie stared worriedly at Phantom as she began to follow Jack out. Leaving her daughter alone with such a dangerous ghost went against every gut instinct she had. But Phantom looked so pale, his jaw having swollen up to where his face look bloated, and the skin around it looked bruised. She could tell his neck was suffering from the same rough treatment, as well as a very calculated and decided cut. The beginning of a skinning. And the way he laid there, barely awake and staring at really nothing in particular, it vaguely reminded her of when Danny got his tonsils taken out. How his jaw had swollen up after the surgery due to an infection, and how he had laid miserably on the couch while being babied by her. All the odd-flavored milkshakes he could ever want.

"So, what's our situation?" Maddie wondered the second they were in the ectoplasm covered kitchen. Jack took a deep breath.

"Something's wrong, and I can't pinpoint it," Jack told her. "And not just with Phantom. Well, it's related to him, but it's Danny too." Instant goosebumps.

"What about Danny?" Maddie questioned. "Do you think he's hurt?" Jack seemed to debate with himself a bit.

"I don't know. I think there's some kind of connection between Danny and Phantom. I think Danny's…helping him. I don't know why though," Jack confessed. Maddie's skeptical look was not lost on him. "I just can't think of anything else to explain it all. Why would Phantom come here after being so hurt? Why would he go directly to Danny's room? We've been talking for years trying to figure out why he has FentonWorks tech, despite all the anti-ghost measures. Maybe Danny's been giving it to him."

Maddie hummed thoughtfully. Of course, it seemed to fit. But it was such a stretch. Danny always seemed so afraid of ghosts. She always saw him running from them, as he should. He was inexperienced, and she didn't want him to get hurt.

"I don't know," Maddie replied slowly. "That seems a bit of a stretch. Phantom's a lot craftier than we give him credit for. I think he's just found a glitch within our system or took it from the RV. And going to us, to Danny's room? I think it's just to invoke sympathy." Which had admittedly worked.

Jack frowned.

"No, it's not just that. There's blood all over his bed," Jack told her. "I was changing the sheets, and there was so many blood stains in the mattress. Not ectoplasm. Blood. Well, there was other dried ectoplasm too, but." Jack paused, and Maddie was absolutely baffled. "That's also where I found Danny's cellphone. In the bed, and it was alongside a thermos. Something's up. Something's wrong, and I just." Maddie could tell Jack was becoming overwhelmed with emotions. Frustration. Fear. Worry. "I just wish Danny would come home already so I could know that he's okay."

"And he's not with Sam or Tucker?" Maddie wondered. Jack shook his head no. That was incredibly odd. He was almost always with one of them.

This was an absolute puzzle, the worst kind. She had all the pieces. She was so sure she had all of the pieces, but she had no big picture to compare the piece to. Danny had blood and ectoplasm on his bed. That did ring to Jack's theory that they were friends, but how would that even happen? How would they meet? Especially when Danny was so afraid of ghosts? That part didn't make sense.

"But, he's lost a lot of ectoplasm," Jack continued. "I don't know if it's the same with ghosts as with humans, but he had to have lost a good amount. I cleaned it up, but it was all over the stairs and Danny's room." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking at the kitchen's mess. "Sorry, I didn't get to the kitchen yet. I just wanted to get it out of the carpet before it stained."

"That was smart, thank you," Maddie nodded. "And of course, you had to move Phantom."

"Yeah, I cleaned him up a bit and gave him Danny's shirt," Jack told her. "It fits him really well."

She could hear somebody racing up the stairs, and a door upstairs opening. It was Jazz, Phantom wasn't about to run anywhere. Maddie and Jack stayed silent as they listened to her come back down the stairs moments later, practically flying down the stairs and back into the living room.

"Write what you can of what happened," Maddie could faintly hear Jazz instruct, and her heart skipped a beat. Jack's eyes were a bit wide too. Writing.

Maddie sped walked into the living room, seeing Jazz where she was before kneeling by Phantom on the floor. She held up her whiteboard for Phantom to write, the ghost holding a marker in his shaking hand ashe had moved to sat up. As Jack had said, she was able to notice that indeed, he fit perfectly into her son's shirt. Jazz glanced up at them, looking almost a bit guilty.

"I was hoping he could write what happened," she replied.

"That's brilliant," Maddie had to admit, and she moved to sit on the coffee table, Jack taking the armchair, and the family stared at Phantom.

Phantom barely looked like he could keep his eyes open, let alone write. He stared at the whiteboard, his hand wobbling as he finally made contact with the board. Slowly, he began to try and write something. The entire family waited in silent hesitation for something.

Maddie couldn't help but notice Phantom wheezing. As in, he's breathing. Why? Now that she noticed, she couldn't unsee it. It was creepy and odd to see Phantom pretend to be so human-like. His appearance didn't help. He did look...more alive than most ghosts. And the way he seemed so pained and sweaty added to the illusion. She wasn't even sure ghosts could sweat. Phantom was such an oddity.

After nearly five minutes of weakly moving his hand, he dropped the marker, and his hand plopped back to rest on his stomach. Phantom closed his eyes.

"What's it say?" Maddie wondered as Jazz turned the board around to see what was written. Jazz squinted slightly as she tried to decipher the code.

"Skulker?" Jazz asked aloud. Phantom had kept his eyes closed but still made a noise, nothing like Jack had heard yet tonight. It was a positive noise of acknowledgement, the best he could do.

"Skulker?" Jack repeated.

"Yeah, he's the mechanical ghost," Maddie reminded him. Jack's eyes lit up in recognition.

"So it's just a normal ghost fight," Jack concluded. "Just gone really bad."

The answer haunted him still though, and just by glancing at Maddie, he could tell it struck her odd too. Why a ghost would want to skin another ghost. They just really had a hard time letting go of such...animalistic behavior. It was disturbing to think about. Why would that ghost want to do that? It was so senseless.

Well, they were enemies. Maybe it was some...disturbed trophy of war.

"Can you please fix his jaw now?" Jazz practically begged. Maddie nodded, and she motioned for her to move.

Jazz quickly shuffled out of the way, and Maddie took her place. She lightly touched Phantom's cheek, and the ghost's eyes slowly opened.

"Alright, Phantom, we're going to see what we can do now," she told him. To her surprise, he didn't look afraid of her at all. The previously spaced out look, likely from shock now that she thought about it, was looking at her with such a loving warmth. Like he was looking at his mom. "Just hang in there." Phantom didn't say anything.

She carefully opened his mouth, and she could immediately see that Phantom had several teeth missing, and the inside of his mouth being deformed from two distinct fractures that she could see, thanks to said missing teeth. Many teeth that had been left behind were not spared, being cracked or severely damaged. Ectoplasm had stained his lips and was still pooling actively in his mouth from a few cuts on his inner cheek from broken bones and shattered teeth. His tongue looked nearly half-cut off. It all screamed painful, and she felt terrible for him. Especially with the way he stared at her hopefully for help. To fix this.

Gently, she felt the swollen skin, trying her best to tune out the pained whimper Phantom had let loose. She could feel the bones out of place. This was far from a simple jaw crack that she had expected him to have, that while she had no true medical degree, that she could still wire together. It looked more like somebody had stomped on his face repeatedly. And this wasn't even factoring in...the skinning. Or any other injuries he may have had. This was something a doctor needed to fix.

"How's it look?" Jack finally asked. Maddie didn't answer right away.

"This is worse than I expected," she finally admitted. She stopped prodding Phantom, and she found herself lightly stroking his hair comfortingly.

The ghost hunter hated herself for it, but she couldn't help it. Maddie was always going to be a mother first, and even though Phantom was a ghost, the town nemesis, that's not what he was right now. He was a badly injured kid, her son's own age and his exact size based on how well her son's t-shirt fit, that was likely terrified and had nowhere else to turn but them. For the first time, she found herself wondering who he was when he was alive. Where his family was, and how much Phantom's mother likely cried when she lost her son. He had to have been young when he died. Way too young.

"Can you fix it?" Jazz wondered desperately. Maddie glanced skeptically at Phantom as the ghost stared at her, and she shook her head.

"This is something a professional needs to handle," she finally decided. Jazz looked absolutely distraught, and Maddie glanced back at Jack. "Jack, we should call the hospital and see if they'd be willing to admit Phantom as a patient." Jazz's eyes grew wide.

"W-wouldn't that be dangerous for him?" she questioned nervously. Maddie sighed.

"...It could be. But if you want Phantom to get better, he needs a real doctor," Maddie told her, and Jazz hung her head. "Jack, call the hospital and ask, please?"

"You got it, baby," Jack replied, standing up. He glanced at Phantom. "May want to give him a bit more pain medicine. It's been a while since I gave him anything." Maddie nodded in agreement, and she stood up as well.

"Jazz, honey, keep an eye on him, okay?" Maddie told her.

Jazz nodded, and she returned to Phantom's side, watching her parents. Maddie watched Jazz's reactions out of the corner of her eye, and she paused after turning the corner, staying where she was. She reached out to nudge Jack, and he glanced back at her. She jerked her head towards the living room, and gave him a look. He was puzzled for a moment before understanding. He nodded, and he continued into the kitchen.

Jazz's reactions to all of this was not normal to her. Something was up.

Maddie waited patiently around the corner, listening close. And soon, she was rewarded.

"Danny, you need to tell them." It absolutely took Maddie a bit aback to hear Jazz call Phantom Danny. She nearly had forgotten that they shared a first name. A choked gurgle had replied. "Wait, let me try something."

Maddie peered around the corner carefully, watching Jazz scribble on the board before holding it up to Phantom. She couldn't quite read what it said from where she hid.

"Okay, just point," Jazz encouraged. Maddie could see Phantom point to one of the things written. Jazz frowned. "Danny, please. You need to tell Mom and Dad."

Tell them what? Jack had to have been right on some level, but the rabbit hole went deeper. Jazz knew something too. Both of her children were in cahoots with Phantom. For some reason, and it made her angry. He had to be manipulating them. Why else would Danny and Jazz, to be simple, betray them like that? Interact with such dangerous ghosts? Another piece was added to the puzzle, and it wasn't helping make anything clearer.

"Please," Jazz's voice had come out soft. "Please, at least think about it. You're so hurt, they need to know…" She paused, staring at Phantom before wiping away tears before they could fall. "I'm not going to tell them. It's not my thing to tell. But please. Please consider it. If you're going to tell them, it needs to be before we go. It may even be better then, because if you say something now, it'll help the hospital treat you. I know it's scary. But just...You heard Mom. This is so serious." Jazz had reached out to lightly touch Phantom's swollen jaw. "Do you really think you can hide this from her?"

What the hell could any of that even mean? Maddie was at a loss for words or anything that could even begin to help her understand.

Jazz sighed, and she had turned the board back to her, erasing what was written with her sleeve and jotting more things down. She turned it to Phantom again. "Okay, so it was Skulker. But what exactly went down? Are any of these close?"

Phantom didn't make any movements for a while, pausing before jabbing his index finger at two of the options. Jazz paused.

"Both?" she asked. Phantom held up two fingers. "Both. Hmm." Jazz stared at what the supposed situation was, and she could see her daughter's face twist up in slight horror as she had, somehow, narrowed down the mystery of what Phantom went through.

How come Jazz could communicate so much more smoothly with Phantom? Why did she know so much? Jack just...he had to be right. On some level, he had to be right. She couldn't think of any other explanation.

Maddie jumped as she felt Jack's familiar touch on her shoulder. She pulled away from the doorframe, looking at him. He motioned for her to come with him, and she did. Once in the kitchen, Jack broke the news to her.

"The hospital's willing to take Phantom in," he told her. Maddie sighed in relief. "But on the condition that the Guys in White come to assure nothing gets blown up." Maddie rubbed her eyes.

"Aren't we enough?" she asked tiredly. Jack shook his head no.

"Nope. They want government officials there," he replied. Maddie glanced at the doorway of the kitchen.

"Phantom will never go for this," she pointed out.

"It's his only option if he wants his jaw fixed," Jack reminded her. Maddie ran her hand through her hair.

"Well...I guess we'll have to see how he feels."

"I guess so." Maddie fell silent as she gathered her thoughts. "Well, go ask Phantom while I get him some medicine from the lab."

Jack nodded, and they each left. Maddie opened the basement door, and her face scrunched up as she noticed that the trail of ectoplasm was, indeed, unavoidable. Clear boot prints from when Jack had traveled before, but by now, the ectoplasm was mostly dry. No danger of slipping, just a disturbing amount that needed to be scrubbed later.

She carefully went down, and she found what Jack had given Phantom last time. She picked up another dose of it, and she returned up the stairs. In the kitchen, Jack was writing on a piece of paper stuck to the fridge, and she looked at him curiously.

"Did you ask Phantom?" she asked. Jack glanced at her.

"Yup. And he agreed."

Maddie was floored by this. He agreed? Despite the Guys in White? He had to be in a lot of pain to agree to such a thing. She stood, a bit stunned.

"I'm writing Danny a note telling him what happened," Jack continued. He lightly tapped Danny's cell phone that he had placed on the counter. "And to call you when he gets home."

She simply nodded at him. Almost dazed, Maddie went into the living room. Phantom and Jazz turned to glance at her. Jazz had a distinct distraught look to her, almost frazzled while Phantom seemed to have gotten paler and looked exhausted. Seeing Phantom again, really seeing him...going to a hospital despite the dangers was honestly a very risky call, but he was running out of options so quickly.

"Well, looks like we're going to the hospital," Maddie tried to sound optimistic, but it fell flat. "Let's get Phantom a bit more pain relief, and then we'll get all loaded up and head on over. How's that sound?"

Phantom gave a short nod the best he could. Jazz gave her a large, fake smile.

"It sounds great, Mom." Maddie knew that she was lying.


	7. Worldbuilding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shhh worldbuilding is close enough let me have this. also I tried to be as accurate as I could with injuries and the law, but I'm sorry if it's off.

Maddie knew that she was lying. It was really weird. Jazz wasn't much of a liar. She rarely did anything that would warrant needing to lie, so knowing that Jazz was lying to her...it made her uneasy.

She glanced in the review mirror at Phantom and Jazz as she drove. Phantom was laying in the backseat, head propped up on a pillow that rested in Jazz's lap. Jazz had brought the whiteboard along, having let it rest on the floorboards along with the markers. She was speaking softly to Phantom some nice, comforting words, words that Maddie was sure Phantom would never be able to remember. He had instantly dozed off upon being given more pain reliever. Jack ended up carrying him to the RV.

Jack didn't speak much, aside from a brief phone calls he had made. In a final ditch effort to see where Danny was, he had called Valerie's dad. Maddie knew that he and Valerie had broken up a while ago, but from how her son spoke, they still seemed to be friendly and on good terms with each other. Once more, it was reported that nobody had seen Danny. It caused Maddie some stress, especially given the reactions of the duo in the back.

Jazz had frozen up anxiously. Even Phantom, having briefly woken up upon hearing Jack's loud voice, had stiffened. They were hiding something. Maddie just knew that they both had knowledge of where Danny was. But why were they hiding it? Danny was a good kid. She doubted he'd have gotten into something like drugs. Maybe a secret girlfriend? But Jazz would spill the beans if that was the case, to prevent all the worrying.

The other was another call to the hospital, stating that they were nearly there. From what Jack had described, they were understandably skeptical of the situation. Ghost hunters, asking human doctors to help them heal a ghost? It sounded insane. But for some reason, Phantom was incredibly popular in town. It wasn't just the local youth that looked up to him. Adults, her own peers, were looking at this kid as a hero.

She pulled into the hospital parking lot, and as promised, there was somebody waiting outside for them. A skeptical looking pair of nurses looked surprised upon Maddie pulling up. Jack rolled down the window.

"Hey, we had called ahead?" Jack half-asked aloud, almost hesitant.

"Oh, yeah," the first nurse nodded. "May I see?"

Maddie put the RV in park, and she and Jack both exited. Jazz opened the door for them. By now, Jazz had helped Phantom sit up properly into the seat. One of the nurses stepped up to properly see inside, holding onto a door handle. Maddie could see the heartbreak on the nurse's face. She used her free hand to lightly touch Phantom's swollen face, trying to get a feel for the injury as Phantom let out a small whimper.

"How's it look?" her coworker asked. A glance and a mouthing of the words "really bad" was all it took for the other to nod. "I'll go get a stretcher."

Why they didn't already have one ready, Maddie wasn't sure. It almost irritated her, but she decided to not let that get to her. It only took a few moments for the other nurse to return, along with another staff member. Carefully, they began to help Phantom out of the RV and onto the stretcher.

"Will you be staying?" one had turned to ask the Fentons.

"I wanna stay!" Jazz blurted out. Maddie stared at her daughter. Jazz had gotten the whiteboard out, clutching it tightly to her chest with a fist full of markers. In return, Jazz had shot Maddie a pitiful look. "Please, Mom?"

"Honey, your dad's going to be taking you back for the college tour," Maddie reminded her. Jazz's lip quivered. "And I need to get home to make sure Danny gets to bed at a reasonable hour.

"We can't just leave him here all alone," Jazz lightly argued. "I'll just skip the college tour."

_Skip_ the college tour?

Who on Earth was this girl, and what did she do with Jasmine Fenton?

"Jazz, you've been waiting a long time for this tour," Maddie scolded. "You're not going to skip it." Jack lightly nudged his wife.

"Mads, she's kinda right," he whispered. "Phantom's a ghost. They may not be able to treat him correctly. And this would be a great chance to study his ecto-biology and get some tests."

Maddie thought for a moment, studying Phantom as he was settled in on the stretcher. A nurse was talking to him in a very motherly tone about how they were going to take good care of him. Phantom barely seemed to notice, staring off into seemingly nothing.

"I'll stay," Maddie finally decided with a light sigh. Jack grinned.

"Jazz and I will swing by the house, and we'll bring you the other car and some stuff to take samples and what-not," Jack offered. Maddie seemed to brighten at the idea of finally getting a solid ectoplasm sample from Phantom, one that wasn't contaminated by being on the ground or splattered against a wall, and all the ecto-biological information they could collect.

"Can you pack me my kindle, and the charger and one for my phone?" Maddie requested. "I feel like I'll be here a while."

"You got it, babe," Jack replied. Maddie glanced at Jazz. She had no clue how her daughter really was feeling at this point. Her face had turned blank of emotion, a bit pale.

"We'll be back, then," Jazz said slowly. She offered the board and markers to Maddie, and she accepted them.

"I'll see you in a bit, sweetie," Maddie told her, leaning down to peck her forehead lovingly. Jazz smiled weakly at her, and she gave Jack a quick peck as well.

"So you're staying?" a nurse questioned. Maddie nodded. "Well come on, let's see what we can do."

Maddie gave a brief wave to her family as they loaded back up in the RV. She glanced at the staff as they were assuring Phantom was comfortable on the stretcher.

"Sorry hon, we're just going to put this over you to avoid any drama wheeling you back," the other nurse apologized. Phantom gave a half nod and wheeze. She pulled a white sheet over his form before they began to wheel him inside, the ghost hunter following shortly after.

* * *

Maddie sat with the whiteboard in Phantom's private room. Thankfully, nobody outside of hospital staff had noticed him being wheeled in, nor did people seem to give much thought as to why Maddie herself was there. After some debate and confused questions on how they'd even proceed, Maddie and the nurses had decided that the only thing keeping Phantom in bed would be an IV drip of pain medication that was slowly relieving his pain. The ghost had been changed out of her son's shirt and what was left of his jumpsuit into a hospital gown.

She had begun to take notes on everything she was learning so far on her phone. Phantom could drink water, even specifically asking for it. Whether or not it was a need or just a thing he could do, he still could drink it. He appears to feel pain. He has bones, teeth. Human medicines work on him to a certain extent it seemed. But how? Lightly tapping her foot, she sighed. Phantom was such an eternal mystery.

A soft knock at the door caught her attention, and it startled Phantom awake. The door opened, and a short brunette doctor entered, giving a warm smile.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Carrington, I'll be taking care of you today," she introduced herself. She reached out to shake Maddie's hand, before going over to do the same with Phantom. Phantom was staring at her curiously as he accepted her hand.

"I'm Maddie Fenton, I'm one half of the Fentons ghost research and hunting team," Maddie replied. Dr. Carrington nodded knowingly, despite still looking a bit puzzled. Maddie knew why. A ghost hunter. Helping a ghost. It wasn't your everyday sight.

"So, the problem seems kind of obvious to me. Your jaw hurts pretty bad, huh?" Dr. Carrington sounded very sympathetic. Phantom gave a half-nod. "Don't worry, dear, we'll see what we can do about it. But firstly, we're going to try and get some basic information about you, okay?"

Phantom nodded.

"He hasn't really been able to talk, so we've been using this," Maddie said, and she held up the board.

"That's perfectly fine," Dr. Carrington replied, and she began to flip through her clipboard. "Can you give him the board, and we can get started?"

Maddie nodded, and she shifted to hand Phantom the board and a marker. Phantom accepted both of them. He uncapped the marker and testingly scribbled on the board. Maddie hummed curiously.

"He's a lot more alert now," she noted to the doctor. Dr. Carrington glanced at Phantom in between her writing on the paper.

"How was he before?" she asked.

"Very...unresponsive," Maddie explained. "Could barely focus, unable to write much on the board before. Jazz, my daughter, could only really get information out of him by writing stuff on the board and having him pick, like gesturing to yes or no." Dr. Carrington made an impressed noise.

"Very smart of her," she commented, and she jotted that down. "It was likely a symptom of being in shock and in pain, but now he's likely more stable due to consistent medication and just simply time giving him a chance to recover. So, Danny, right?" It was weird to hear Phantom being called Danny. It...felt almost chilling to remember that Phantom shared a name with her son.

Phantom nodded.

"Alright, Danny, so can you tell me a little bit about you? Date of birth, where you were born, any allergies, any pre-existing medical conditions?" Dr. Carrington asked.

Phantom began to scribble on the board. Maddie watched him closely as Phantom was able to steadily hold the marker and write. Dr. Carrington waited patiently before he finally turned the board to her. She silently read it to herself.

"My goodness, you've been through a lot," she said almost in awe.

"May I see?" Maddie questioned. Phantom stared at her, wide eyed. Dr. Carrington lightly ruffled his hair.

"You don't have to show," she assured him. "It can be doctor-patient confidentiality."

Maddie frowned. She was doing all this to help this town's menace, and she wasn't going to get any access to this information? It was absolutely insulting. Dr. Carrington began to focus on writing down what Phantom had written on the board while the ghost and ghost hunter locked in a staring contest.

Finally, Phantom shyly broke his gaze. He hesitantly handed Maddie the board. She accepted it, and she scanned what Phantom had written in response.

_4/3, 16, born in Wisconsin, allergic to penicillin_

And the worst part was the previous medical conditions. Phantom had instead made a list of previous injuries. They were very vague and to the point. _Stab to chest breathing issues, broken nose breathing, crushed knee chronic pain, ecto-gun to face headaches._ Near the end, it seemed as if Phantom had begun to run out of space, despite having more to say. His handwriting got smaller and smaller.

Maddie reluctantly gave Phantom the board back, and she leaned back in her chair as she watched the doctor begin to ask Phantom what had happened. She jotted down in her phone the information Phantom had provided, and it hit her. Phantom's information matched her son's exactly. Same birthday, same age, same birth state, same allergy. It sent a shiver up her spine as she stared. This...the absolute odds of this being just a coincidence were simply too outlandish.

Soon, Phantom turned the board to the doctor. She silently read it, and her face paled the further she read. Maddie was dying of curiosity. The hunter leaned forward, trying to grasp a peak. Phantom glanced at her, and he soon turned the board to her. And she felt herself grow a bit numb at the words.

_Fought Skulker. Wanted my pelt. Choked me out. Woke up strapped down on table because of cutting. He hit jaw so I couldn't ghostly wail._

"How did you escape?" Maddie asked aloud. Phantom didn't look at her, or make any moves to write down how.

"So it's not just your jaw?" the doctor changed the subject. She pointed to Phantom's neck with her pen. "I could see the cut on your neck, but didn't know it was...due to that. May we see?"

Phantom nodded. Dr. Carrington helped him sit up and pull the hospital gown off his shoulders and forwards. The bandaging Jack had done earlier was done with a gentle care, and specks of green ectoplasm had begun to bleed through. The doctor picked up some medical scissors to cut away the bandaging, carefully pulling them off.

Maddie had gone hunting before. She grew up in Alabama, and she remembered her dad showing her and her sister how to skin what they hunted. The carefully made cut was a lot cleaner and less graphic than she had imagined. It wasn't the half-hazardly passionate cut that she was expecting, something that would tell her that this skinning was just a feral ghost action. It was definitely intentional. Somebody really did want to skin Phantom.

"Oh my, this is really something," Dr. Carrington murmured to herself. "But I think this should heal just fine. It looks like you got lucky on this front." She smiled warmly at him. "Just some stitches, which we'll likely do during surgery. But right now, I wanna go ahead and get some X-rays of your jaw and chest. Alright?" Phantom gave a light nod. "Excellent. The nurse will be here in a second to take you. And then we'll see what all we can do for you, alright?" She lightly patted Phantom's shoulder, and she flashed the two a smile before leaving the room.

* * *

Two men in white suits walked up to the desk. The bald, more built one reached into his inner shirt pocket to produce a badge. The other, a fairly skinny white haired young man, fumbled and searched his pockets in a brief panic before copying his partner, also producing his badge.

"I'm Agent K, this is Agent G from the Guys in White," the first one spoke. "We're here for the arrest of a Danny Phantom. We were informed that he was admitted here as a patient about an hour ago."

The woman working behind the station looked worried, and she began to flip through some papers on her desk.

"Um, I can direct you to the doctor assigned to work his case," she said hesitantly. "Or, actually, let me page her."

"That would be very helpful, thank you," Agent K spoke.

The employee paged the doctor, and the agents waited patiently. Agent G leaned into the other agent.

"When he gets out, can I taze him?" he asked quietly. Agent K rolled his eyes.

"No," he told him sternly, keeping his voice low as to not attract unwanted attention. "Not unless he attacks you. There's civilians here, we can't afford that kind of casualty. We're to take him in as quietly and quickly as we can to avoid property damage."

Agent G said nothing, standing quietly for a moment. He rocked on his heels, fidgeting while Agent K stood nearly as still as a statue.

"...So when do I shoot the ecto-gun?"

Agent K took his sunglasses off to rub at his eyes tiredly. Rookies.

"You don't unless there's a clear and present danger," Agent K scowled. He put his sunglasses on, despite being inside. "Calm down, or I'm going to make you sit in the car."

Agent G frowned, but he didn't say anything else. He sighed boredly, checking his watch. Agent K kept his eyes locked on the doors that led further into the hospital.

Nearly twenty minutes later, Dr. Carrington came out accompanied by a woman in a nice business suit, holding a file folder full of papers. They went to the station, speaking briefly with the worker who pointed out the agents. They approached them. Agent K nudged Agent G, who stopped fidgeting and stood straight with him.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Carrington, and this is one of the lawyers who represent the hospital, Elizabeth Ohmer," she introduced herself and her companion. Ohmer nodded. "I understand that you're here for my patient?"

"Yes, we're from the Guys in White," Agent K did the talking, once again pulling out his badge. Agent G copied him. "We understand that you have a ghost named Danny Phantom in your care, and we have a warrant for him to be released into our custody immediately."

"Well, as government officials, you should know that you need to wait until the suspect has received the proper care and is discharged before you can bring them into custody," the lawyer reminded him with a frown. Agent K frowned in return.

"He's wanted for felony level offenses," Agent K informed her. "We have a right to bring him in for questioning for his criminal offenses. You are interfering with the law, and I suggest you hand over the ghost before you get arrested too."

"We've done nothing wrong," Ohmer kept a level tone and voice with them, despite giving them a certain Look. Agent K didn't flinch, though the rookie was quickly growing intimidated. "Mr. Phantom is in no condition to talk to you nor be discharged at this time. You are welcome to stay here and wait for him to recover, we have plenty of coffee and magazines that you can read while you wait. But you should know that there's absolutely no way that I'm letting this kid leave the hospital until he's had treatment and can be assured that he's on a steady recovery path. Mr. Phantom is a self-reported minor at sixteen, meaning that even if you have him wanted for felony offenses, in the state of Illinois, you still have to have a youth officer present for questioning purposes and for processing once you've charged them."

Ohmer reached into her folder file to hand Agent K a piece of paper. The agent accepted it, silently reading the contents. It was simply a packet from a legal document, highlighted in bright yellow being the parts of note. It detailed what she said. He looked up at her.

"You can't apply United States laws to a ghost," Agent K argued. Agent G remained silent. Dr. Carrington shrugged.

"Given that Mr. Phantom self-reported that he was born in Wisconsin, that makes him a minor citizen of the United States, so I think we can apply those laws to him. If you question him without a youth officer in this hospital, I can and will contact the media, state and police about how you've violated the civil rights of the town's celebrity. I don't think that you also want to risk a lawsuit from Mr. Phantom himself over it,," she replied. She pulled out another piece of paper, similar to the other. A description of the legal rights that were arguably applicable to Phantom, with more highlights. Agent K's face visibly dropped in defeat as he took it. "You're not the first government agent to walk into the hospital, and you won't be the last. Now of course, you are allowed to stick around if you really want to, but you may not talk to him at this time until both Mr. Phantom is ready to receive visitors and you have a youth officer."

Agent K narrowed his eyes, his anger hidden by his sunglasses. They came prepared for him, and this was imposing a problem. A problem on the worst kind of scale: Legal loopholes and technicalities.

"As of now, Mr. Phantom's undergoing some tests so we can figure out how best to treat him," Dr. Carrington spoke up. "He will likely not be ready or able to talk to any officers until tomorrow, the very earliest."

"What are the details of his condition?" Agent K questioned.

"All I can say at this time is that we're still assessing what the problem is," the doctor replied. "Would you like security to escort you out, or would you like to wait?"

Agent K took a deep breath and exhaled harshly in frustration. Agent G's head glanced back and forth between the hospital employees and his coworker, anxiously waiting.

"...We'll be in the waiting room," Agent K finally said. Dr. Carrington and Ohmer nodded. "We still have a warrant, and Mr. Phantom is to be released to our custody upon being discharged. And you are still to alert us if there is any security or physical threat from Phantom. He is a massive threat to Amity Park's safety, and we cannot just leave the area."

"Alright. We'll call you if either of those happen," she replied. "But be warned. You will be here a while."

Agent K didn't reply, simply giving a brief nod before turning. He lightly nudged Agent G.

"Come on, rookie," he told him, and they moved to take a seat.

They settled into seats, and the second they sat, Agent G began to fidget before leaning into Agent K.

"So what?" he asked quietly. "We taze him later?" Agent K sighed.

"No, you moron," he hissed. "I'm going to update the boss, and then we wait." Agent G looked dumbfounded.

"Just...wait?" he asked. "But I thought we'd have a cool shootout, ya know? With ecto-guns and blast shields, and then of course I save a hot nurse who's so thankful I saved her she-"

"Shut up," Agent K grumbled, pulling out his cell phone. He couldn't wait for Agent O to get back from vacation so, if nothing else, he had somebody else to help deal with yet another trigger happy rookie. "The Guys in White is mostly paperwork and waiting."

"And you're cool with that?"

"We get paid by the hour, and I've been catching up on Game of Thrones," Agent K explained, hitting his boss's contact info and slumping in his seat.

* * *

Dr. Carrington and Maddie stood together with as they looked at the X-rays. All of this was fascinating, the knowledge that Phantom had a skeletal system, and that it was basically a human's. They were a bit silent as they studied the images before them. The door opened, but they paid no attention to it, and the surgeon came up to them. He let out a low whistle the second he saw them.

"Damn," he spoke in awe.

"Seven fractures," Dr. Carrington agreed. She held up his pen to the X-rays as she spoke. "You can see the comminuted fracture, and he's also got four other oblique fractures. Plus seven missing teeth, five more are badly damaged and tongue nearly chopped off. Kid went through hell."

"We're going to need to basically wire this kid back in one piece," the surgeon agreed. He also used his pen to point out injuries. "His left side has most of the damage, it looks like a hard impact."

"Yeah, he reported being in a fight with another ghost," Maddie spoke up.

"Mrs. Fenton, will you be joining us in surgery?" the surgeon asked. He hesitated. "Of course, we typically would never. But given the circumstances, we may need your expertise." Maddie nodded.

"Yes, I'll be happy to assist," she replied. "It'll be a good chance to really study some of Phantom's anatomy."

"You're going to have only this chance," Dr. Carrington said with a grimace. "The Guys in White have a warrant for his arrest. When he gets discharged, they'll likely be taking him in." Maddie raised an eyebrow.

"Waiting? That doesn't sound like the Guys in White," Maddie commented. The doctor smiled at her.

"Legal loopholes and technicalities mean we can keep him here until I discharge him," she replied, and she gave a sigh. "But if you can, Mrs. Fenton, can you see what you can do? To keep him from having to go to the Guys in White?"

"I don't have anything that could help," Maddie told her with a helpless shrug. "The Guys in White have jurisdiction over us."

"There must be something," the surgeon frowned. "Isn't there any kind of ghost related laws? Or something?"

"I may just need to advise him to get a lawyer," Dr. Carrington mused to herself. "But I don't know how well that'd work. The Guys in White operate in a different kind of court system I think, like the military? Does that sound about right?"

"Why are you so worried about this anyway?" Maddie questioned. "Phantom's done terrible things."

"He's sixteen, Maddie," the doctor spoke quietly. "I have a daughter his age. He's just a kid doing his best. You can look at him and just...you can just kind of tell. I've had patients come in who were people he rescued from burning buildings and car accidents. Evil ghosts don't do that. Evil beings don't do that. He's been doing a lot of good, really working to make a change. I don't want to see the Guys in White hurting him for that."

Maddie thought about her own sixteen year old. Danny. He shared so many similarities with Phantom, it was scary. And it couldn't be a coincidence. Why hadn't he called her yet? Something was very wrong.

"I'll have to see what I can come up with," Maddie sighed. "But for now, what do we need to prepare?"

Dr. Carrington nodded, and she began to speak more in depth about the possible surgery plans. Maddie watched as the two doctors debated the best course of action. This was going to be a long night.


	8. Accident

This was going to be a long night.

Jazz had been quiet most of the trip home, staring out the window and listening to the radio softly. Jack didn't try to make conversation either. He knew something was off, and Jazz was involved. Somehow. His mind continued to flip through possible theories, but none clicked. They pulled into the driveway silently.

"Alright, Jazzpants," he tried to speak cheerfully, but he knew it fell flat. "I'm going to bring your mom's things in, get packed myself, and get her stuff, and we'll be off back to the college tour!" Jazz simply nodded. "Meanwhile, can you go ahead and start cleaning up some of the ectoplasm in the kitchen?" Jazz was quiet.

"...Yeah, I can see what I can do," she finally said. Jack forced a smile, and he hopped out of the RV, Jazz following suit. He grabbed Maddie's suitcase as Jazz went ahead inside.

Jack followed her soon after, closing the front door behind him.

"Danny? You home?" he called out hopefully. There was no reply, and he went into the kitchen to see Jazz curiously opening up the pizza box. Danny's phone was still on the counter, and the note was left untouched.

"Do you think this pizza's still good?" Jazz wondered. "Like can I heat some up?"

"Oh yeah, go ahead," he encouraged her. "Can you heat me up a plate too? We have time to watch that one show you like if you want, the one with the science lady? It should have recorded."

It hurt that Danny seemingly was going to skip out on Jack's impromptu father-son night. Perhaps another time… At least he could have a nice quick dinner and some father-daughter time. And by judging how Jazz seemed to smile for the first time since she and Maddie got there, she seemed to enjoy the idea.

"Yeah, I'll just heat it up in the oven, it tastes better when you do that," Jazz insisted. She carefully avoided all the ectoplasm all over, and she began to dig through the cabinets.

"Let me know when it's done, I'm going to pack and get some stuff for your mom," Jack replied. Jazz gave out an 'okay!' as she continued her search. Jack took Maddie's bag upstairs.

He could tell that despite the cleaning, there was still a lot of ectoplasm in the carpet. It was making the carpet hard and rough as the mixture had dried. Oh well. Least he got a lot out already.

Despite the evidence pointing otherwise, Jack still took a step into his son's room and called for him once more. Hoping that somehow, his son had just sleepily wandered in and missed everything, going straight for bed. The room was void of any life, and there was no sign somebody had stopped by.

Jack moved to his own room to begin packing. He left Maddie's suitcase on the bed for her to unpack later, and he took out the other suitcase.

He could hear Jazz coming up the stairs quickly, and he paused. She went into one of the rooms. Probably her room. Jack didn't put any thought into it, and he continued his packing. But then he heard the knocking, and he stopped to listen. Knock, knock. Knock, knock. Knock, knock. Jazz's footsteps soon hopped back down the stairs quickly, only to run back up less than a minute later. What on Earth?

He poked his head into the hall just in time to see long orange hair go into Danny's room. Jack immediately followed as the knocking came back up.

Jazz had her ear pressed to the walls near Danny's bed, and she would knock. In her hand, she held a large knife. Jack watched her silently. After several more knocks, Jazz finally stopped. She took the knife and stuck it into the wall.

" _Jasmine Fenton!_ " Jack suddenly spoke, and Jazz jumped in fright, spinning with wide eyes. "What are you doing?"

"I-uh, I'm," she began to sputter out nervously, glancing between her dad and the knife stuck in the wall.

Jack studied her for a good long while as Jazz offered up no explanation. Instead, staring at him like a deer in the headlights, arms crossed over her chest as she rocked on her heels. Her behavior was so out of character. Her concern for Phantom. Seemingly less concern about where her brother is. Why she was placing staying with a ghost in the hospital over her college tour. His last theory, the wildest one, was somehow the most reasonable.

"He's Danny, isn't he?" Jack questioned.

"Of course, his name's Danny Phantom, so like, of course he's Danny," Jazz replied quickly with a nervous chuckle.

"...Jazz…"

Her lower lip quivered hard, and the waterworks began again. Jazz sniffed, wiping her nose on her sleeve once more. The jig was up.

"Why didn't you tell me that Skulker tried to skin him?" she demanded to know. "He had to tell me himself!"

"He couldn't have told you anything," Jack lightly argued. "You apparently guessed. Was it that plausible of a choice that you were able to guess?" Jazz flinched. "Why didn't you tell us?" Jazz frowned.

"Molecule. By. _Molecule._ "

Oh. Right. Jack returned his attention back to the knife.

"...Why are you cutting holes into Danny's wall?" he asked. Jazz glanced at the knife.

"Danny hides stuff in the walls of his room. Things he wants to keep secret," she began. "He'll phase them into the wall. I know somewhere he has some modified ecto-dejecto that he'll drink to help him stay energized." Jack stared at her.

"Modified ecto-dejecto? That stuff Mads and I made to weaken a ghost?" he questioned curiously.

"Yeah. Your original formula made them more powerful," Jazz explained. "But Danny also took your original formula, and he modified it to be kind of an energy drink. So he can stay in his ghost form longer and have more energy to fight." She reached up to grasp the handle of the knife. "Danny's ghost form isn't unlimited. Sooner or later, he's going to pass out and turn ghost again. Especially if he's going under for surgery. I was...I was going to sneak him some."

Oh god. _Oh no._ His son was a ghost. And in the hospital. Where the Guys in White were. A shiver of horror ran up his spine. This was bad. And his son was a ghost. His _son_ was a _ghost._ And not just a ghost, his son was _Danny Phantom._ That ghost he was so close to dissecting. A ghost he had dreams about dissecting and studying his organs. A ghost he was going to encourage Maddie to collect samples from while in his most vulnerable state, when that was his son who was badly injured from a ghost fight with another ghost and needed his parents more than anything. _Oh god._

Jack felt a bit lightheaded, and he immediately took a step to the side to sit on Danny's bed. He felt ill. All the ectoplasm and blood stains on the bed...Oh god. How many times were those injuries were from him and his mother?

He stared up at Jazz as she began to continue cutting through the wall with some struggle.

"How did this all happen?" Jack asked quietly. Jazz glanced briefly at him as she continue to stab through the drywall.

"The summer before Danny began high school," she replied. She paused for a moment before shifting to continue cutting a small square in the wall. "He was in the ghost portal when it turned on. You know. The accident."

The ghost portal…

Danny always told him that it just seemed to flick on when he was down there showing his friends. That it sparked to life. Maddie and him had determined that maybe it was just a delayed timing, or that maybe Danny or his friends were pushing the buttons and a magic combo had made it turn on. And that he just was too nervous to admit that he was fiddling with his parents' things in the lab. To be in the lab. Inside when it turned on...Jack couldn't imagine the kind of intense pain that came with that high voltage shock.

"And he became a ghost?" Jack questioned. "How? What happened exactly?"

Jazz finished cutting. She used the knife the begin forcing the square out of the wall, the piece wiggling.

"Danny's half ghost," she clarified. "...I don't know for sure. I wasn't there. And Danny doesn't like to talk about it. I've asked him before, but he said he doesn't like to think about it. I've asked Tucker and Sam too, but they don't really say much either. I'm guessing it just brings up too many bad memories."

She got the piece out, setting it and the knife on Danny's nightstand. Jack never felt like a worse parent. Jazz used her phone's flashlight to look in the hole, and she smiled in relief. She reached her hand inside to dig around.

"How did you find out?" Jack wondered. He prayed deep down that Danny didn't tell her. It already hurt so much to know that Danny refused to tell him and Maddie. Even despite him coming home.

Oh god, _Phantom was coming home._ This was his home.

"I accidentally saw him go ghost," she said. The reply gave an odd relief. "Got it!"

She pulled out a fistful of small bottles, glass bottles that Jack and Maddie had assumed Danny had accidentally dropped and broken, like he had so many in the past. Oh no. That was only after Danny went into high school. When his ghost form would have been still stabilizing. Intangibility.

The bottles were full of a bright green, slightly glowing liquid. There was a piece of tape on the bottles, labeling them. Ecto-Dejecto Energy Drink.

"And this will help Danny stay safe in the hospital?" Jack questioned. Jazz shrugged.

"I can't say for sure," she confessed. "But if nothing else, it'll help give Danny some energy to stay a ghost. Hopefully even enough that he won't turn human again under the knife. It's just the only thing I really know right now. I tried calling Sam and Tucker, but neither one of them are answering."

"Is this the worst Danny's ever been injured?" Jack wondered. Jazz studied him for a moment.

"I think any other questions you have, you really should just ask Danny," she finally spoke. "It's not my thing to discuss. And he could give you better answers anyway."

"But-" Jack began to protest.

"But nothing. Danny's really hurt, and I'm sure he'd really like to have you and Mom there fully supporting him," Jazz argued. "And me."

Jack sighed, hanging his head as a million thoughts tried to rush through his mind. So many questions…and the one who knew all the answers in full couldn't talk.

"Come on," Jazz tried to encourage him. He felt Jazz wrap her arms around him in a hug. "Let's eat some dinner then go see Danny."

* * *

The entire ride back to the hospital was still silent, but with less tension. For the first time since he came home, Jack felt some form of ease. He knew where his son was. And even though he was in rough condition, he was in great hands. Though there was an entirely new anxiety, this new secret he had to protect.

Jazz was walking ahead of him quickly to the room they were told he was in. She found it before him, and she disappeared into it. By the time he reached the door, Maddie was leaving the room, looking a bit curious but smiling when she saw him.

"Hey," she greeted him. Jack smiled weakly back, and he handed her a backpack.

"Hey, baby. Brought the chargers and such," he told her. Maddie happily accepted the backpack, swinging it onto her back.

"I learned a lot about Phantom so far," Maddie began, digging her phone from her pocket to show him. "He has a human-like skeletal system. He's able to take in human-like medications and react to them. And he spoke a bit about his personal life."

Jack studied the notes on her phone that she had taken. He went from curiously scanning the pages to growing more and more somber. He soon gave a deep, hard exhale. This was one of the hardest things he'd ever have to admit to her.

"I have...I have to talk to you about Phantom," Jack finally spoke. They locked eyes, and Maddie's heart sank deep into her stomach. She knew exactly what he was thinking.

"No," she whispered. Jack handed her back her phone, looking away.

"It's the only thing that makes sense," he lightly protested.

"It's not possible," Maddie argued weakly.

"It explains everything," Jack breathed. "It connects every dot. The similarities, the problems at school, the secrets-"

"Jack, it can't be," Maddie was barely holding back tears as the flood of emotions was washing over her. She put her hand over her mouth as she tried to think. Tried to find an argument, something to counteract against the conclusion Jack had come to. A conclusion that had begun to grow in the back of her own mind that she refused to let settle.

"Maddie…"

Maddie took a deep breath. Her eyes moved to look at Phantom. He was sitting upright in his hospital bed as he interacted with Jazz. She was talking to him with a serious expression. Phantom was so comfortable around his sister.

"My baby," Maddie spoke softly. The truth was more painful than any injury.


	9. History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to bibliophilea for betareading!

The truth was more painful than any injury. Agent G himself had already seen his fair share of injuries. While fairly new to the Guys in White, he already had suffered burns from ecto-blasts and a sprained ankle. It wasn't an easy job, but it was the nature of it.

But reading all these records...He couldn't help but let out of low whistle of awe. Another warrant had given them the ability to seize the medical records on Danny Phantom from an annoyed Ohmer. Warrants, forms and documentation. So much pointless paperwork.

They had only been reading through these for a few moments, but Agent G was already wincing at the details of the injuries and the self-reported incident.

"Damn, he got fucked up," Agent G said aloud. Agent K shot him a Look.

"Don't say it like that, it's unprofessional," Agent K scolded him. His coworker continued flipping through the files.

"Dude got _skinned!_ " Agent G exclaimed. "How else am I supposed to describe it?"

"Just say it like it is," Agent K told him. "According to this report, Phantom claimed that he was captured and that another ghost attempted to skin him. How hard is it to say that?"

"But it's fucked up," Agent G blurted out. Another disapproving look from his coworker. "It is!"

"Not saying it isn't, but you need to be more professional than that," he replied.

"Kinda like how you blindly shot rockets at me a few years ago?" Agent G questioned.

"Shut up, rookie."

Agent G rolled his eyes, and he stared at the documents before him. He hated how right his coworker was. The Guys in White really felt like it was seventy percent paperwork, twenty-five percent waiting and five percent something exciting. Though he was so fast and good with doing the paperwork, he was already on the same episode of Game of Thrones as Agent K. This was so boring.

He really had expected there to be a lot more action.

"Officer Snowden will be here tomorrow, right?" Agent G asked hopefully. Agent K nodded.

"Yeah, she'll come with us tomorrow to question Phantom," he replied. "She's trained to work with youth."

"Cool, cool," Agent G said with a soft sigh. He drummed his fingers boredly on the table. "So what can I pack for tomorrow?" Please let it be ecto-guns and smoke bombs.

"Uh, here." Agent K handed the rookie a piece of paper. "Make copies of this. It's going to be the key to victory."

"What is it?" Agent G asked curiously, scanning the page.

"Forms we can fill out to get the IRS to audit taxes. You have no idea how far just threatening this form goes in terms of getting information."

"Really? No bad cop good cop?" Agent G stared in disappointment at the paper before glancing to his coworker.

"We're good cops; the IRS is bad cop," he explained. Agent K put down the files he was reading. "Look, rookie. I know you were expecting more, but this is kinda most of the job. Learn to enjoy it. It's a sweet gig."

"How do you mean?" Agent G blurted out. "Aren't you bored?" Agent K shrugged.

"Yeah, it's a little boring, but because everybody wants to join the Men in Black, and basically only Amity Park believes in ghosts and has ghost activity, there's basically no requirements to join, good insurance and decent pay. I haven't actually had to do any real work until Danny Phantom showed up. And I did the same deal as you, graduated high school, police academy then here. So it's been almost twenty years of maybe three years worth of work? At most." Agent K began to collect the files to put in a white briefcase.

"That's so...unproductive," Agent G said. He passed the files he was reading over. Agent K shuffled them and put them into the briefcase as Agent G stood with the IRS form to head to the copy room.

"Welcome to working for the government and seeing your tax dollars at work up close and personal. Now make the copies and bring me them and the warrants so we can go home and prepare for tomorrow."

* * *

Phantom, no-Danny's eyes kept glued to them as they came back into his room. Jazz shot them a warm smile despite her fingers nervously playing with loose threads of Phant-Danny's sheets. Neither could bring themselves to return any kind of smile, instead just watching them with such an overwhelming mix of emotions, it was hard to tell what was most present. Fear for their son, the ghost, and his safety. Betrayal that they had to find out this way, when he was so hurt he needed a hospital visit. Relief that they finally had Phantom in their, that they finally knew exactly where their son was after hours of mystery. A strange indescribable feeling as the years of puzzle pieces began to click together in the wake of what was going on.

Maddie couldn't bring herself to look at him as she shuffled to her seat, but Jack stared back at him. His eyes were wide and watching. He fidgeted with the marker in trembling fingers. The gho-his son was afraid.

Jack settled into one of the chairs meant for visitors, next to Maddie near the foot of the hospital bed. His fingers drummed on his knee anxiously as he glanced between his kids. Jazz had taken her seat to sit right next to Phant-next to Danny. Danny, with bright white hair and glowing eyes. White hair that used to be such an identifiable marker for their ghostly enemy. How did Danny change- _that light._ It had to be.

His hands felt sweaty, remembering how much Phantom was struggling to breath and how much pain he was in, the garbled ectoplasm and the amount of effort he had seemingly did to prevent that light from coming. Because of that look in his eyes as he and Jack stared at each other. The gho-his son didn't want him to see what would happen.

"How are you doing, Danny?" he questioned.

Danny kept his eyes on them, despite uncapping the marker and beginning to write. He only broke eye contact to glance to see where Maddie was and to check his writing as he scribbled very quickly on the whiteboard. Danny was afraid of them.

_OK._

Jack simply nodded. He looked over at Maddie. She had begun staring blankly at Danny, and he leaned over to nudge her.

"What's his condition?" he asked. Maddie straightened in her seat.

"Seven fractures, seven missing teeth, five more badly damaged and tongue's almost gone. Plus the skinning, and a few other small cuts. They've already given him a few stitches, and there were." Maddie glanced to her son as he continued to watch them. Jazz mirrored his actions, both silent as they listened in. "Several other injuries. Old ones. They did what they could for some of them. Such as this really bad burn on his back."

A really bad burn on his back. From the Fenton Bazooka Jack had aimed at Phant-that Jack had shot at his own son as he had tried to desperately fly away from him. Only earlier that day. A shot he had taken so much pride in, a shot that had finally landed against a difficult target. He shot his own son. And this wasn't even the first time. They had such bad history as FentonWorks and Phantom.

"I'm going to be doing surgery with them, since they're going to need," Maddie trailed off. She didn't want to say it. Her ghost expertise was needed under the knife.

"I'll do it if you can't," Jack offered immediately. He glanced at his son. He looked pale with worry, and Jack had to look away. Never in his life did he expect that he'd be reluctant to take a chance to study a ghost under the knife.

"No, I can do it," Maddie insisted, but she didn't sound convinced. To have to operate on your own child…

Jack heard a marker squeaking, and he turned to watch the bedridden teen scribbling something down on the whiteboard. He soon held it up to them.

_Are you mad? I'm sorry._

"Of course not!" Maddie sprung to her feet to rush to him. Jack followed her. She immediately put her hands gently on his cheeks, kissing his forehead lovingly. "Danny, I'm so, so sorry." Her voice cracked painfully. Danny exhaled softly, and he visibly relaxed. Even Jazz seemed a little more relieved. "Oh, my baby must be in so much pain."

"I've been worried about you all day," Jack added, and he moved to lean in as close as he could to Danny, wiggling an arm behind his back to gently hug him. He felt Danny grab his arm and squeeze instead of a hug.

Maddie straightened, and she let go of Danny's face in favor of taking his hand to squeeze tightly. Jack held on a bit more before finally letting go, but he kept a hand on Danny's shoulder. Danny's hand wiped at his eyes before he accepted a tissue from the box Jazz offered.

"We're in a bad situation," Maddie spoke bluntly. Jazz raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"The Guys in White are already here," she explained. "And they have a warrant. When Danny gets discharged, they want to take him in." Danny paled, and he sunk down in the bed. He pulled his hand away from his mom to write. Jazz glanced worriedly at Danny. "And the hospital was able to prevent them from taking him for now. Something about a legal loophole. We need to figure out a way to make sure Danny gets released to us."

"Danny, no," Jazz said sharply. Jack peered to see what Danny had written.

_I'm so stupid. I shouldn't have come here. They're going to arrest me._

"Jazz is right," Maddie agreed. "We couldn't have helped you. Your jaw is bad. We would have had to take you here anyway."

"That doesn't matter now," Jack said. "What matters is that you're going to be fine. And we'll figure this out."

"We should talk to the lawyer," Jazz spoke up. "Maybe she can tell us more. Or tell us who to talk to?"

"Danny has surgery in an hour," Maddie mused, glancing at the clock. It was nearly nine at night. "And I don't know if that lawyer is still even here. It's so late."

"Jazzypants and I will go check, or leave her a message, just see what we can do," Jack promised her. "We'll get through this."

Maddie just nodded. Jack motioned for Jazz to come with him. She nodded, and she gave Danny a final smile before getting up to follow their dad.

* * *

Jack was surprised to see the light still on in the office of Elizabeth Ohmer. The lawyer was here way past any normal hour he'd expect a lawyer to be open. But he was glad she stuck around, and he stopped outside of the door, sighing heavily.

"You okay?" Jazz's voice snapped him out of a stupor. Jack shook his head no.

"I can't believe Danny didn't tell us," he said quietly. "And he only told us because…" Well, he didn't even really tell him. He found out. Everything just clicked too well, and he hated it. He hated that this was even a situation. How could Danny hide this from him?

"Worry about that later," Jazz urged him, and she raised her knuckles to the door. She paused, letting her hand hover. "It's just really complicated," she tried to explain. Jack's stomach felt empty, and he didn't want to hear what he knew she was going to say. He quickly raised his own hand, lightly knocking and cutting her off.

"Come in!" a voice called out. Jack opened the door, revealing the lawyer at her desk. She looked tired, hair pulled back and looking a bit frazzled. He couldn't help but notice that she had taken her heels off and was letting them sit next to her desk, along with her suit jacket hung carelessly on a coat rack. "Oh, hello! How can I help you?"

"Hello, I wanted to ask about Phantom?" Jack questioned. Ohmer motioned for him and Jazz to claim seats in front of her desk as a yawn slipped out.

"What can I help you with?" she inquired. Ohmer stretched a bit, her back cracking as she sat straight, letting her hands rest on her desk.

"My wife told me that the Guys in White want to take Phantom when he's discharged," Jack explained. Jack leaned forward onto the desk. "It's very important to us that Phantom doesn't go with the Guys in White."

"I'm glad you agree," Ohmer nodded. She sighed, leaning back in her chair once more. "They came by with a warrant not too long ago. We had to surrender the new medical record we made for him. And I know they'll be back, and they'll have more warrants and documents. I'll have no choice but to let him be discharged to them. I've been trying to find something, but…" Ohmer trailed off.

"But?" Jazz pressed curiously.

"I'm not an expert in this kind of law," Ohmer explained. "I'm a lawyer for a hospital, I don't know the criminal law or anything that well. I tried to get in contact with some people who may help, but it's." She looked at her watch with a frustrated sigh. "Almost nine-thirty on a Friday night. Nobody's going to be in their office or likely even call back until Monday. So we're kind of on our own."

"We want to help," Jazz replied.

"Yes," Jack jumped in. "Please. Where should we start?"

Ohmer stared between the two of them for a moment, looking thoughtfully at them.

"I think the best and first action is to locate Phantom's family," Ohmer said slowly. The lawyer slightly swayed back and forth in her chair as she thought. Jack and Jazz exchanged a nervous glance with each other. "If we can find out who he was, his history, it'd really help us in that he'll have adults who can represent him. His parents, or maybe an aunt or grandparent. Older cousin. Somebody."

"And what if we can't?" Jazz wondered. She leaned onto the desk. Jack knew she had the exact same worries as him. This newly discovered secret being exposed when it would eventually be uncovered that the closest thing to an alive identity Phantom had was Fenton. "It'd be...it'd be really hard to track such a thing down. Wouldn't it?"

"It would be," Ohmer admitted with a sigh. "We could eventually. But we just simply don't have that kind of time. We may just have to see if we can assign him a legal guardian, through some kind of loophole maybe? He's likely classified as a runaway of sorts by now, emancipated given that he's living independently of his parents. Or he could be placed into a foster family for now."

"What about me?" Jack wondered. Ohmer cocked her head curiously at him. "Mads and I would do it. We'll be his legal guardians." That felt so odd to say.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Ohmer mused thoughtfully.

"Why not? It'd help us get Phantom home where he can recover safely," Jack pointed out. Ohmer had a skeptical look as she studied him.

"Mr. Fenton, given your long and detailed history with him, I think it's a very terrible idea, and it'd be irresponsible of me to allow him to be discharged into your care. The very public campaign against him, the interview statements about your desires to study him, dissecting him molecule by molecule," Ohmer explained. Jack's stomach dropped as he was forced to remember all the things he had said. "You're a ghost hunter. He's a ghost. To be very frank, Mr. Fenton, Dr. Carrington and I both have already agreed that you are not somebody that we trust to handle Phantom's long term care after he's discharged. No more than than we trust the Guys in White with his care. I apologize, but you have to understand. I'm also very certain that the Guys in White would use your interest in taking Phantom into your care as merely a ruse, and that there would be child abuse happening within the home. I have nothing against you, or the work that you do. But right now, Phantom is my patient, and he's also a minor. I'm doing what I believe is best for him."

Jack wringed his hands a bit to try and overcome how numb he felt at the words. He had no arguments or counter-points or...really anything. She was right. She was so many levels of right, and he never felt like a worse father. His own child hadn't been safe in their home for years. Hadn't been safe from him or his mom. Danny didn't even...didn't even tell him. He probably never felt safe enough to confide in them. Even before this, Danny had to have doubts that Jack loved him more than anything. And who could blame him. He was no safer at home than he was...with the Guys in White.

Jack dry swallowed. He could only imagine the amount of daily fear Danny had of him, and he hated that he knew exactly why Danny never told him or Maddie.

"So what then?" Jack wondered. "Phantom's just going to go into foster care? And there's nothing I can do?" Ohmer shrugged. Panic flushed through him. No, no, no. His son had to come home with him.

"He's in our legal hands right now," she explained. She sat up to look through her book, flipping a few pages. The lawyer glanced up at them to give them a reassuring smile. "I'll figure something out."

"How can I help? I can read fast, and I take good notes," Jazz offered. Ohmer didn't glance up from her work, and Jack could tell she was debating internally.

"It'd be difficult to read through everything by yourself," Jack tried to persuade her. _Please. Please just let me do anything to make sure Danny comes home._

Ohmer bookmarked her page, but she didn't close it. Instead, scooting her chair to a bookshelf, she began to scan the titles. She plucked a few from the shelves.

"Um, look through here for anything related to orphaned children," she replied. "Or a minor without a legal guardian, emancipated teens, anything that could go along with that." She handed Jazz a book, and she eagerly took it, flipping it open. Ohmer flipped a book to double check the name before giving it to Jack. "And Jack, can you look through this one for anything related to police procedures for a patient who's in custody?"

Jack accepted the book, setting it on the desk. He stared at the title of it, a long law-based title that he couldn't even begin to truly understand. He opened it curiously, flipping through a few pages. Tiny text, many big words. Zero pictures.

"I'm going to get us some coffee," Jack offered as he stood up. His knees felt a bit weak, but he didn't quite buckle. "It's going to be a long night."


	10. Shapeshift

"It's going to be a long night."

Those words never rang truer for Maddie, who simply nodded in response. Dr. Carrington flipped through her notes as she jotted down the latest updates before she began to shuffle papers around in the file. It took very little time to do progress notes. Not a whole lot could be documented about Danny, or well Phantom. What was there to record? Nothing that could be comparable to a human. Was Danny still human?

Maddie watched her son as he idly doodled on his board as the doctor did her duties. She could recognize the vague shape of a spaceship and some related doodles as he sketched wildly out of obvious boredom. What was Danny even considered? Was he human? Would it be actually worthwhile to test his vitals? Why did he look like this?

"Buuut we're pretty much all set. In a half-hour, I'll be back, and we'll get you prepped for surgery," the doctor spoke cheerfully, clicking her pen before putting it back in her coat pocket. "Do you have any questions? Danny?"

Danny's head snapped to attention, and he shook his head. She nodded.

"Alrighty, then when I come back, we can finally get you all fixed up." She smiled warmly at him, and Danny nodded eagerly. "And Maddie, you're still going to join?"

"Yes," she replied quickly, ignoring the instant terrible feeling. Operating on Danny...No. She had to make sure everything went alright in this situation.

"Good, then I'll see you in a bit!"

The door closed, and Maddie sighed softly. She began to dig through the bag Jack had left with her. Chargers, her kindle, Jazz's kindle, Jack's tablet, a notebook and pencils. He had also packed some fudge cookies and chips for them. She noticed some glass bottles of green liquid, and she curiously pulled them out. They looked nothing like what she had in the lab, and the tape on them labelling them was nothing like she typically used. Ecto-Dejecto Energy Drink. She turned them in her hand, listening to Danny's marker squeak.

Danny's board nudged her shoulder, and she glanced over to read what he had written.

_My Greenbull!_

Greenbull? Danny wiped off the board with his forearm before writing more. She turned the vial around in her hand, hoping for some kind of details to be written somewhere. Nothing.

"What is this?" she asked aloud, and Danny held up a finger before continuing to write.

Maddie glanced at the labelling again. Ecto-Dejecto? That was what she and Jack had used before to weaken a ghost, to make it easier to fight them. Did Jack accidentally bring some along? Danny nudged her again, and her eyes scanned his sloppy writing.

_Your ecto dejecto had opposite effect so it makes ghosts stronger, I changed it so it's an energy drink. It helps me stay a ghost longer. Jazz knows where I keep it._

"You modified our Ecto-Dejecto?" Maddie was surprised. Danny nodded, and he wiped the board to write more. "Danny, just the fact that you were able to successfully modify our formula is amazing. How come." She cut herself off. How come her son was failing chemistry when he could make this with no guidance?

Because Phantom was seen all hours of the day and night fighting ghosts. During school hours. During bedtime. Past curfew. That's where Danny always was. Hunting ghosts. Fighting them. Getting hurt. Ending up in the hospital so badly injured that he practically lost half of his teeth. And if her math was correct, her understanding of a possible timeline...just about the time Danny began to flunk was when Phantom began to show up.

_Yeah, I can't stay a ghost too long, and all the ghost hunting really exhausts me. I drink this to give me a boost to help me. Tuck helped, we call it Greenbull._

Phantom was seen all hours of the day and night fighting ghosts. He showed up to nearly every ghost incident to fight. To the point that Jack and Maddie happily began to let Phantom take on the ghosts, especially during the later hours. From their observations, he was only interested in fighting other ghosts. "Let them tire each other out," she remembered telling Jack. She had been letting her son take on the slack and responsibility that she was supposed to have done. To the point that he was chugging a homemade energy drink that he had to engineer himself to keep himself going because taking a break wasn't really an option. Maddie was a terrible mother.

Wait.

"Tucker knows?" she asked. Danny flinched, and he nodded. He jotted on the board something she already guessed.

_Sam too._

He told his friends over her and Jack? Well, made sense. They were all very close. But she was his mom. If he had told her, she could have helped him. She could have fixed this. She could have taken the ghost powers away or found a way to remove the ghostlyness. But by now, his ghostly form had to be stable after having shifted and such for so long. It was likely too late to do anything now.

"When did you tell them?" she wondered. The marker hovered hesitantly over the board before quickly writing.

_They were there._

There for what? How did this even...The portal. It had to be. There had to be no other way. Nothing else they could have made or produced would result in something like this, in this weird ghostly powers. And Danny lied to her. He lied to her face about where he was when the portal had apparently flickered to life while she and Jack were out of the house. That the portal had turned on when nobody was home. But how did it happen? She needed to know. Her mind was racing with all the things that could have gone wrong, the many possibilities. How could this entire situation even be real? How could she even be assured that Phantom was telling the truth? What if this was a big lie? No, no. Jazz wouldn't have gone along with it. Jazz had to have known. Her behavior, her reactions. She knew. This was Danny. This was her brother. This was her son.

"What happened?" she whispered. Danny shook his head, wiping off the board and leaning back into the pillows. Right. Right...now was not a good time to discuss this. Phantom, her son?, his face was still swollen, and the IV of medicine was slowly dripping. The only thing keeping him pain-free. Because she failed to do anything to help keep him safe. She was nearly doing the opposite come to…

She leaned into him a bit, reaching out to gently stroke his hair comfortingly. His hair didn't feel like it had been bleached or dyed. This was natural. But how? Could Danny shapeshift? How the hell did she not know about this? Danny looked at her with such a content, yet exhausted look. Now that she knew...how could she have suspected nothing? All she could see now when staring at the ghost boy was how much he resembled her only son. What kind of mother didn't recognize her own child like that? Even if he was...

What else had he not told her?

Danny pointed to the glass vial in her hand, and Maddie glanced at it before looking back to him. He made a drinking motion, and she took the cap off before letting him have it. Danny glanced at the bottle, and he quickly threw his head back, pouring the contents into his mouth quickly. Maddie winced at the half-choked coughing and struggles to swallow before Danny finally handed her an empty bottle back. He wheezed a bit but smiled, giving a thumbs up. Did this work that quickly?

The Ecto-Dejecto, like everything they made, was meant to only work on ghosts. No wonder they always targeted Danny. Or was it? Was Danny a ghost? Did Danny...die?

She froze completely at that idea as she watched Danny take up doing more doodles. More spaceships and stars. Was she that neglectful of a mother that she didn't notice her own son passing away? What else could he be? Did Danny die, and she didn't notice? How could he look so differently when masquerading as Phantom? Was this his true form now? Did Danny die?

This wasn't the time to discuss that. Not when Danny couldn't even say a single word. But she could feel her hands begin to shake. Did her child die without her even noticing? What kind of fucking mother could not notice that? Ghosts could shapeshift. And there was still so much unknown about death. Did Danny have to force himself to shapeshift into what he used to look like so he could be around? So that she would continue to love him or something? Didn't he know that she'd love him no matter what? Why was he even around if he had died? How, why, _what._

"Danny, did you die?" It came out so quietly and softly. Her son stared at her with wide, frightened and confused eyes.

She could see Danny visibly swallow anxiously. It did nothing to help her own worries. He slowly wiped away his doodles, and once presented with a blank slate, he began to write. Slowly. Constantly stopping to briefly wipe away the words and rethinking. Maddie could do nothing but stare intensely as she waited for an answer.

A knock interrupted them, and Dr. Carrington came into the room with a smile, followed by a nurse.

"Hey, we can finally get this show on the road," she chirped cheerfully.

They walked up, and Danny absentmindedly handed Maddie the board and markers. They began to shift to where they could move the hospital bed. Maddie paid little mind as she read over what Danny had begun to write. All that was written was

_The portal_

Her worst fears were confirmed, and she hated it. She stayed painfully quiet as she wiped the board, shoving it into the backpack along with the markers. It stuck out the top, and she left it on the chair. Maddie not only was so oblivious that she had missed that her own child had died, but was so neglectful that she was the reason he had died.

"Just to avoid some drama, we're gonna sheet you again, okay? Standard procedure like we been doing," one of the nurses told Danny, and he gave a thumbs up. She smiled warmly at him, pulling his sheets over his head to hide the ghost from any possible publicity. This had to remain as quiet as possible.

Maddie pocketed two more vials of the homemade energy drink as she began to follow the others in a fog. What kind of mother...what kind of person could miss...would be oblivious… Her eyes welled with tears. A horrible mom wouldn't have noticed, too busy in the lab looking for ways to destroy ghosts instead of being a good mom who was active in her son's life. Where did she go wrong? When did she begin failing as a parent? What did she do to make her son believe that he had to keep this from her?

They wheeled him into the surgical room without incident.

"Come get some scrubs and wash up," Dr. Carrington instructed Maddie, motioning for her to follow.

"Alright. I have something that should help Phantom while we're operating," Maddie said, and she held up the vials. Dr. Carrington smiled.

"Perfect!" she chirped. "What's its purpose?"

"It boosts his power, meaning it should also boost any healing effects and keep him stable," she replied. At least, that was the impression she got from Danny. Dr. Carrington simply nodded. "We can mix it into the IV bag."

"Sounds good. Let's get washed, and then you can do just that."

Maddie took a deep breath. For the first time in her life, it was giving her anxiety to, essentially, dissect a ghost in some capacity. Hopefully Danny wouldn't shapeshift back. Is that how this worked? This night was going to burn into the mother's memory forever for all the wrong reasons.

She slowly washed up and donned her gifted scrubs, anxiously following Dr. Carrington into the room. Danny was still awake for now, nodding and confirming things with the surgeon.

A version of her biggest dream was here. Surrounded by a company of doctors about to operate on Amity Park's greatest menace, discovering his unique biology and being able to contribute to her field of study. But this was nightmare fuel of the highest degree, and she felt sick. She was regretting not asking Jack to do this. It wasn't too late to-oh yeah it was. It was so late for everything. Just everything.

"Maddie do you wanna get the IV set up with Nurse Sanchez? She can help you mix in your stuff."

"I can," was all Maddie could bring herself to say. Her mouth felt so dry. She went over to the nurse.

"You can just give it to me," the nurse told her. Maddie didn't argue, and she handed the vials over. She hoped it would be enough to keep Danny's...form like this. The nurse thanked her, and she set to work.

Maddie found herself standing right over Danny as he stared off to the side. Towards the tray of medical tools, with anxiety written clearly on his features. She lightly stroked his hair, and he glanced up at her.

"I'll be here the whole time," she said. Though at this point, was it a threat or a comfort?

The later it thankfully seemed, as Danny visibly perked up and nodded. He held his hand up, and she took it, giving it a light squeeze as her heart sank a bit. How could she be here, doing this? Could she just get through this pretending he was only Phan-no. No. No, no, no. She couldn't do that. Not anymore. Not just blindly pretend. This was her son, and a possible chance to finally do something good for him as a mother.

She watched his IV bag get changed out, and she prayed that the mix kept him together. Prevented this secret from becoming exposed. The new mixture soon was slowly dripping in.

"Alright, Danny, we're ready to get started," the anesthesiologist spoke, and Danny let go of his mom's hand. He put the mask over his face gently. "Count backwards."

Danny made a noise of sorts, and in less than thirty seconds, he was out like a light. Maddie's breath caught in her throat as she fearfully anticipated his form to change. It did not.

The surgeon's words were muffled in her mind as she watched them make the first incision, then slowly, for the next six hours, begin to make the careful and painstaking task of wiring her baby back together. The process felt like it would never end.


	11. Puppet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 28: Puppet

The process felt like it would never end. The worst part was the painful lack of results. Two hours of searching through textbooks, and they found little to work with.

Jazz had been faithfully taking notes in neat handwriting on anything possibly worth referencing. She paused only to sip coffee and occasionally ask Ohmer a question. Like her, the lawyer was focused and kept her eyes mostly glued to the pages as she applied sticky notes to relevant places.

Jack couldn't concentrate at all.

He stared at the pages, his mind skipping over words and forgetting the last paragraph. The text was so small, with many words he didn't quite understand. Jack wasn't a lawyer or a brilliant teenager. He was an ecto-biologist. None of this made sense to him. He was useless. Useless to even do a basic thing to help his son. He had retreated to the lawyer's couch to properly stretch out and to give the girls more space to spread out the books.

The office phone began to ring. Ohmer's hand shot out to answer it immediately.

"Hello, this is Elizabeth Ohmer," she greeted. A weak smile came across her face as she forced a small chuckle. "Yeah, I'm still here. Did you get my message?" She sighed and leaned back in her chair, only to immediately sit up again. "Oh? Yes, I will still be here...Please drop on by!" Jack watched the lawyer curiously. "Thank you, see you in a little bit! Mhm! Goodbye!"

She hung up, and she sighed heavily in relief.

"That was one of the other lawyers I called, his name is George Payne, who'd have more knowledge," she explained to the pair.

George Payne...George Payne...that name rang a bell…Jack knew that name...

"That's V-man's lawyer," he suddenly realized. "George Payne, from Payne and Slaughter Firms?" Ohmer nodded, and Jazz went pale.

"You know him?" she asked curiously. Jack half-shrugged.

"Mayor Masters has been a family friend for decades," he explained. "He's had Payne and Slaughter representing his company for a long time, they're the only people he really trusts to represent his businesses anymore. I've never formally met George, but I know he works closely with Vlad." Ohmer seemed surprised, but she nodded.

"George and his partner are both primarily corporate law, but I know they also have a lot of experience with other legal issues," Ohmer replied. "They're a big company these days, they can handle almost any type of legal case you have anymore."

"So is Mr. Payne coming?" Jazz finally spoke up. Ohmer nodded.

"He said that he and his partner, as well as Mr. Masters, would be here very shortly," she replied.

Excitement and relief washed over Jack. Who better would help him than the family friend? A politician, a billionaire, his best friend. Even though he knew Vlad didn't know, Jack already felt at much more ease knowing that Vlad was coming to help, somebody who had more power.

"Vlad's coming too?" Jack questioned. He glanced at Jazz, smiling warmly. Their luck was turning around, but Jazz...she looked even more distressed at this. His smile dropped in confusion.

"That's what Mr. Payne said," Ohmer told them. She stood up, stretching. "In about twenty minutes, so I think I'm gonna take a break. Get something to eat."

"Yeah, sounds good. Jazz? Wanna grab something from the cafeteria?" Jack questioned. He saw Jazz smile weakly.

"Okay," she agreed.

* * *

A knock came at the door. Instead of waiting for any reply, a man in a formal gray suit and briefcase opened the door, followed by another man that also had a gray suit and briefcase. Lastly was a familiar face.

"Vlad!" Jack breathlessly called out in relief, standing up. The billionaire paused in shock at seeing him.

"Jack?" Vlad asked curiously. "What are you doing here?"

"I admitted Phantom into the hospital," Jack explained, and he took a step to Vlad, putting a hand on his shoulder. Understandably, Vlad looked skeptical and yet curious as to Jack's claims. Jack didn't blame him. Even to Vlad, he was never subtle about his...previous interests. "Please, can I have a moment? I really need to talk to you about something."

"Not now, Jack." Vlad tried to shrug off Jack's hand, but Jack clutched his friend's upper arms tightly.

"Vlad, please, it's important," he pleaded. Vlad's face scrunched up, and he silently stared at Jack. He gave a deep sigh, and he motioned for Jack to follow him.

They stepped out into the hallway, and Vlad half-closed the door behind him. Jack had no clue where to even begin. How could he explain to his best friend why, without exposing Danny?

"Vlad, it's super important that your lawyers find a way to get Phantom into my custody."

"So what?" Vlad seemed oddly...more bored than any kind of shock at this statement. "So you can dissect him? Absolutely not. I'll let you in on a little secret, Jack." He leaned into him, and he lowered his voice a bit. "Phantom's actually my son." Jack's entire body froze in horror at what he knew immediately was a lie. He stared at Vlad, wide-eyed. "He's a bit rebellious, wanting to go against me, so this is just the perfect opportunity for me to get him home, safe and sound. So no, Jack. I'm not going to entertain the idea of putting my son in your hands like that."

"Vlad, I...I don't think you understand." Where was Jack even supposed to begin?

His friend rolled his eyes at him.

"Jack, you don't understand. This is between a father and his son, and this is also politics," Vlad told him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to make sure my boy gets home safe and sound."

Vlad didn't wait for any reply. He left a stunned Jack standing in the hallway, going into the room and shutting the door behind him. Jack could only stare at the door, his mind going a million miles. This was just an elaborate, dedicated ploy. It had to be. Vlad was just doing what he could to protect the hero of his town. This son claim, it was only to trick the lawyer into signing him over. Vladdy didn't know, he was just doing what he thought was best. But why the lie, why? Vlad had the money and power to just take Phantom, wouldn't he? Why lie about Phantom being his son?

Jack hurriedly pulled himself together, opening the door and closing it behind him. Vlad paid no attention to his presence, though the lawyers that accompanied him gave a polite headnod. They stood off to the side. Jack could barely muster one in return as he stood with Jazz. She stood in the corner of the room, holding the book she was reading earlier to her chest as she watched on in worry. A distinct fear that stirred feelings of unease within Jack himself. Vlad was standing in front of Ohmer, who continued to stay seated at her desk as she patiently listened to Vlad.

"So, if you just release Phantom into my care," Vlad seemed to be ending a small speech when Jack finally tuned in, "I will handle all the legal fees."

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Masters, but I can't do that," Ohmer lightly frowned. Vlad seemed unfazed by this, giving an understanding nod.

"I meant after his surgery and recovery, of course," he said, and he gave a dazzling smile. One that Jack was all too familiar with. A political smile. "I want my son to be safe and sound when he returns."

"No, Mr. Masters," she replied, shaking her head. Her fingers fidgeted with a pen in her hand. "Forgive me for saying this, but this confession, this, this uh, revelation of sorts, that Phantom is your son is a bit hard for me to grasp." Vlad made a face.

"Of course he's my son," Vlad insisted. Every time Vlad claimed that, Jack felt lightheaded nausea and confusion. Ohmer raised an eyebrow at him.

"Then...why would you so publicly campaign against him during your election?" she questioned. Vlad paused, observing her for a moment.

"Do you have children, Miss Ohmer?" he asked. The lawyer nodded.

"Yeah, I actually have a daughter about Phantom's age," she replied. Vlad gave a smile.

"Then you probably understand how rebellious teenagers can be," he spoke. "We have a bit of a...complicated relationship, but as you know, you always love your children. Even when they act out in such a manner against you." Ohmer leaned back in her chair. She looked obviously skeptical of his story.

"Once Phantom is out of surgery, can he confirm that you are his father or legal guardian?" she asked. Vlad sighed with obvious fake dramatics before shaking his head.

"You will simply have to take my word for it, Miss Ohmer. I'm afraid he'll deny it. You know teenagers."

Ohmer shook her head, lightly tapping her pen on the desk.

"No, Mr. Masters," she replied. "I cannot just take your word for it, especially considering that even you will admit that he will not confirm your story. And this is on top of your very public campaigns against him. You've shot at him before. And you've revealed in interviews before that you had put that million dollar bounty on him. I don't think a judge would allow for a child to stay within a home under those conditions."

Vlad's face had been dropping with every single word she said. On some level, Jack felt relief. The billionaire glanced at his lawyers with a raised eyebrows. They simply nodded to him.

"I'll sue this hospital," he threatened. Ohmer gave an exhausted sigh. "I'll sue this damn hospital for not allowing me to see my child."

She stood up, digging through a drawer in her desk for a few moments. She took out some legal looking papers, looking towards the lawyers standing off to the side instead of Vlad.

"We can do a DNA test," she suggested, and she offered them the papers. Jack could see a flash of panic run across Vlad's face. Vlad's lawyers took the paper, glancing at each other before nodding in approval. "And if that DNA test comes back as a match, then as the biological father of Danny Phantom, Mr. Masters will be given all the legal rights of parenthood."

"I shouldn't have to take a DNA test! That's my child!" Vlad spoke loudly.

"Then take the DNA test so that we can all be legally in the clear," Ohmer told him.

Vlad's eyes darkened as he stared intently at the lawyer before him. Ohmer flinched, but she stayed standing straight.

"Let me speak in a language more people can understand then," Vlad replied. He glanced to his lawyers. They simply watched him.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a thick wad of hundred dollar bills. Jack's eyes grew to the size of saucers upon seeing it, and even Vlad's own lawyers looked impressed. That had to be thousands of dollars right there in the palm of the billionaire's hand. A drop in the bucket for him.

Vlad offered it out to Ohmer, but she kept her eyes locked with his.

"I am Danny Phantom's legal guardian, and he will be discharged into my care. If you make this happen, consider this fifty thousand dollars right here completely yours. Under the table, cash free."

The temptation to take it was there. Jack could see it in her eyes, and she said nothing for a moment. Ohmer finally glanced down at the money, the comically huge stack of hundred dollar bills.

"No."

Vlad's face dropped in surprise, and the hand around the money clenched in anger.

"What do you mean," he asked. Jack felt goosebumps at how angry and cold his best friend's voice was sounding, and an odd feeling was beginning to fill him. "No?"

For the first time since Phantom was admitted to the hospital, Ohmer looked a bit nervous. But to her credit, she stood her ground and never looked away.

"I stand by my statement," her voice quivered slightly, but she still spoke firmly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Masters."

Vlad said nothing for a moment. He kept locked in a staring contest with the lawyer. Jack could see Jazz nervously fiddling her thumbs as she watched on in worry. He squeezed her shoulders assuringly, shooting her a smile. He kept trying to tell himself that Vlad had Phantom's best interest at heart. But Jazz's glance back to him made his stomach twist, and he knew he was only fooling himself.

"A hundred thousand," Vlad suddenly spoke. Ohmer blinked.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"I'll have a hundred thousand dollars brought here. Right now," Vlad bargained.

Vlad studied her coldly. Jack's hands squeezed Jazz's shoulders lightly as it hit him. Vlad was scaring him. He had never seen the cheerful billionaire in this kind of light. Why would he even want Phantom that badly?

Ohmer didn't budge.

"No."

"Three hundred thousand." Vlad had not wasted a second. Ohmer's lower lip quivered in temptation.

"No."

"Five hundred thousand." Jack's heart raced hard as the prices were quickly going higher and higher. He knew Vlad had no price limit for things he truly wanted. "That daughter of yours could go to any college her heart desires. No debt. Enough left over to probably pay off your mortgage, no?"

Jack's grip on Jazz's shoulders tightened, and he only loosened when she let out a small whimper of pain. He murmured an apology as he saw Ohmer staring back at Vlad. Half a million dollars. That was so much money. A comical amount. Vlad would have to deliver that much money on a rolling cart or something.

"No."

Vlad shot her a dirty look of annoyance.

"Name a price, then."

Ohmer's eyes narrowed at him, and she glared right back at him.

"Phantom's not for sale."

Vlad huffed angrily. Jazz and Jack stayed silent as they watched the affair unfold. An uncomfortable silence filled the air. Even Vlad's lawyers shifted from foot to foot as Ohmer and Vlad stared each other down.

"Mr. Masters, I am not another political puppet that you can make dance with a bribe. If you are Phantom's father, then you should have nothing to fear by taking a DNA test," she told him. Vlad said nothing for a while, but he finally seemed to break.

"Fine."

Ohmer nodded. She reached for her phone, dialing an extension for the hospital. Somebody on the other end picked up, and Ohmer spoke sweetly into the phone, requesting a DNA test to be performed. Jack could hear her briefly explain the situation. After a brief exchange, Ohmer hung up, looking up to Vlad.

"You can go to the third floor, to Dr. Bird's office. He'll perform the swap for you, and we'll get back to you as soon as possible," Ohmer told him. Vlad continued to stare angrily at her.

He snapped his fingers, and one of the lawyers stepped forward. The lawyer pulled an envelope out of his inner jacket pocket, handing it to Vlad. Vlad handed it to Ohmer.

"Go ahead and give this to my son when he wakes up. Tell him if he knows what's good for him, that he will call me when he gets the chance." His voice was chilling, and Ohmer simply nodded. "Otherwise, tell him to have fun rotting in ghost prison."

Vlad turned on his heel, and he opened the door to the office harshly, slamming the door behind him. The lawyers followed him, opening the door but closing it more gently, both of them bidding a polite farewell to Ohmer and the Fentons.

Soon as the door closed, Ohmer picked up the phone again. Jazz returned to her seat across from Ohmer, opening the book with slightly shaky hands. Jack moved to his old spot as well.

"Hello? Dr. Bird? Yeah, I just called you. Listen, can you somehow do that swab I just told you to do, but twice?...Yeah, don't tell him about the second one...Mhm, I don't trust him either...There's just, something off about his story, ya know?...Thanks, you're the best." Ohmer hung up the phone with a deep exhale. She rubbed her face, and Jack's mind raced.

Why was Vlad so hung up on this? So reluctant to take a test, his lawyers, the everything? And his behavior, he was so...stand offish. Vlad had never talked or treated him like that before. Or, well, he kind of had, but very briefly and only in passing and rarely, but now? What? Why was Phantom so important? Why was his son so important? It's not like it'd help Vlad's campaign or anything. In fact, it'd possibly be worse if the town found out that Vlad was harboring Phantom, or if he accidentally found out that it was Jack's half ghost son.

Oh god. Oh god.

No...no...it couldn't...Vlad couldn't…

Jack felt his legs grow weak, and he made himself sit down in the seat. He made no moves to grab the book had previously been forcing himself to try and read. It made so much sense. The ecto-acne...the proto-portal...the years spent ignoring him...the hesitance to become close again…

Vlad...Vlad was also half ghost, and he had to be terrified of Jack too.

It sounded so crazy, but this entire day had been a crazy one. Why not throw a little more on top of it? His son _and_ his best friend both being half ghost. Insane right? What are the odds? High. Very high when...a lot when you caused it. Danny and the Fenton Portal...it was too similar to Vlad with the pro-portal...

But who on Earth would Vlad be? Jack tried to picture Vlad with inverted colors, like Danny, and his mind drew a blank. Nobody came to mind. No ghost he had ever seen. He was stumped immediately. But it had to be true. It made too much sense. Jack caused his best friend and son to...become the very thing he constantly hunted, dissected, talked about and experimented on.

No wonder he wasn't that close to either, much as he wanted to be and tried. Both must be terrified of him.

"Dad? You okay?" Jazz's voice broke him of his stupor, and he locked eyes with her. Without any words exchanged, he knew that she knew what he was thinking. Her eyes shied away, and Jack's gut twisted. Jazz knew. Ohmer spared only a brief glance to them before she had returned to flipping through the book before her.

"I'm...I think I need to stretch my legs a bit more," he replied, standing up. He still felt weak, but the room felt so hot and stuffy. "Get some air."

"Do you want company?" Jazz questioned. Jack shook his head as he went to the door, grasping the knob tightly. He didn't need her to come along, to confirm his worst fears and to unintentionally assure him that he was, indeed, a horrible friend and father.

"I'll just be a few," he replied. He forced a weak smile, and he left to take a much needed walk. There was just simply too much to think about.


	12. Ink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 20: Ink; shoutout to qling-qhost on tumblr for betaing!

There was just simply too much to think about. The most annoying part was how that's all there was to do. Think, think, think. Zero action.

Agent G sighed boredly as he sunk further into his couch. He had nothing to do, nothing to prepare for tomorrow. His work clothes were already hung and ready for tomorrow. Everything needed, including lunch and his briefcase of paperwork, was packed and sitting on the kitchen counter. Part of him wished that he had been able to just stay the night at the hospital instead of passing over shift duties to the night team. Ghost activities always spiked at night. But given that the night team had come in white sweatpants and personal laptops, headphones and snacks, they likely suspected that Phantom was going to be very quiet that night. Which made sense, given his condition.

God the Guys in White was boring.

Where was the action? The excitement? The cool jet planes and armor and shootouts? That's what had enamored him, that made him curious and interested in the organization. While the initial introduction to his current career path was certainly not...ideal, it definitely caught his attention. Nothing really could do so better than accidentally being shot at over being mistaken for the ghost boy. Hell, after he joined, he learned that the very agent he was partnered with now was the one that nearly shot him out of the Amity Park Observatory. So it's not like he was in the wrong department.

Agent K didn't even really seem interested in being a detective of any kind. Agent G, the entire ride back to the main office, had tried to ask about his thoughts. His theories, his predictions. Agent K had none, and he didn't really care to listen to Agent G's either. Even after they got the medical records, and Agent G was left floored, Agent K had no insight into the situation.

Skinning? A _skinning?_ That was so disturbing, the reported account. Maybe, _maybe_ he could understand why a ghost researcher would wanna skin a ghost, even though that in itself was kinda creepy. But a ghost, skinning another ghost? Skinning them "alive" so to speak? That was some dark stuff. Something he'd imagine hearing some kind of serial killer did. Even a ghost as supposedly evil as Phantom didn't deserve that.

Emphasis on the supposedly.

Agent G's mind continued to wander as he tuned out the low background noise of his TV going. The Guys in White...was simply so boring. So much waiting, he had entertained himself via reading, and re-reading, and analyzing every case file that Agent K and Agent O were assigned to. It caused him to notice some odd details in the finely printed black ink that led him to have doubts when he began to match Phantom's long, detailed case file with various other cases that were on file within the GIW archives.

The mass public report and stories, the personal accounts and statements taken from dozens and dozens of people during what was dubbed the Overshadowing Epidemic. Many people, whose names he even recognized, had come forward with their accounts and to be interviewed about their overshadowed experiences. Their accounts were similar. Most experienced a loss of time, feeling constantly cold for a while afterwards, being dazed and confused following the immediate aftermath. Some felt physically and mentally exhausted, as if their bodies were never given rest or they had been running a marathon. None of them could pinpoint truly how they knew that they were overshadowed, but they always knew when it ended, and many could immediately see the ghost in question leaving their body. While a number of people came forward with their concerns, the case author reported that given security, news and personal footage, that it was estimated that anywhere from twenty-five to forty-percent of Amity Park was overshadowed during this time while only a hundred people had personally come forward with their account. And for what purpose? Why did this mass overshadowing even happen so suddenly, and why did it end? Nobody was really sure, and the case author made no attempts to even answer the question, nor did he even suggest the question even being a reason.

According to both Phantom himself and eyewitnesses, Phantom stated that he was on their side during this time. At least five eyewitness accounts, names of people he recognized from his high school years, had come forward to claim that Phantom had saved them from being overshadowed. This was dismissed as being ridiculous according to the case author. But this matched up reasonably well.

Frederich Isak Showenhower, more commonly known as Freakshow, was taken into custody after being in possession of stolen goods. After his initial interview with the Amity Park police, he was extradited to GIW's headquarters due to his story. It was absolutely wild to the police, but it had that odd grain of truth that made them ship the ex-circus leader their way. His story was that it was really ghosts that did it using a ghostly artifact, and that he wanted a plea bargain of sorts, to get less jail time since he did not technically do any of the actual stealing. It was noted that in exchange for his information on ghostly artifacts, that he would be given a lesser sentence.

Phantom was shown on security footage and seen by witnesses stealing jewelry and money, robbing stores. Agent G studied all that footage closely, and he had noticed something peculiar. Many of those unique objects stolen matched perfectly to what was confiscated from Showenhower's loot. Both in item description and appearance. Phantom was never shown actively stealing money or jewelry or anything really, outside of this window of time period that matched with Showenhower's statement.

And these things just continued to match on, and on, and on. Things matched up, hidden in the endless text of black ink of case file after case file. It didn't quite confirm innocence. There was still a lot of questions, like motivation and some details that'd need clarifying. But the amount of facts that clicked together was enough, in Agent G's mind, cause a significant doubt in Phantom's defense.

But nobody really wanted to hear it.

He had brought it up to his boss, to no interest. Agent K told him to not bother digging too deep into seeing something that wasn't there. Agent O was more interested in his upcoming vacation with his wife. The other agents tuned him out. Nobody really seemed to care about the motivations or deeper questions involved in the casework.

Ghosts are just evil, they do that, his coworkers claimed, and Phantom was no different than any other evil ghost. But even evil had motivation of some kind. They almost always had some motivation. That's what drives people, and ghosts, to do anything. Many ghosts didn't attack humans or even come to the human world. So why were some attacking and others not? Why would Phantom, if he was evil, seemingly flip flop from doing good days one day to doing evil ones the next? It made no sense. Especially given the supposed behavioral patterns he displayed, it just was an odd fit, and Agent G had simply too many questions.

Agent G turned his TV off as that empty, confused feeling set in. Something just wasn't right concerning Phantom's case. Was this really life as a GIW agent? Was this really what he signed up for? Maybe he really should have become a cop like he originally trained for. But the Guys in White promised to help him find an identity, something he had been searching and trying to find for years. Their impressive display, that action and lightshow. It was what he thought he really wanted.

Was he missing something? Maybe it took longer to get those things, an identity and the excitement of field work. To be fair, he discovered so many things already laid out in ink that previous agents had authored before him. The desk work wasn't entirely useless. Just boring. There was so many facts that pointed to doubt. Agent G wasn't even claiming that Phantom was innocent! Just that there was reasonable doubt.

But of course...he was just a rookie.

He sat in the dark for a few moments before he finally stood up, and he got ready for bed. Tomorrow, he could hopefully get some answers. And he already knew how he was going to force his coworkers to listen.

* * *

Thankfully the worst of the worst was over, leaving many what if thoughts to be put to rest. The surgery went well. Maddie nearly cried in relief when she finally properly saw her son post-stitched up. The swelling had reduced dramatically, and his jaw no longer looked distorted as it was secured back into place. His jaws were also wired shut. So unfortunately, the much needed conversation was still put on hold, and it would truly be put off to the side for a long time. But the important thing was that he saw safe. He made it through the surgery without shifting his form, and his secret was in tact.

She watched Danny as he slept peacefully. Jazz was curled up and sleeping on two chairs pressed to the wall. The teen had been so tired, she didn't even stir when Phantom was moved back to his room. Jack had been napping, but woke when Maddie was allowed to follow Phantom inside.

But now her husband sat next to her in the heavily dimmed lights of the hospital room. Maddie couldn't sleep. A pressing concern troubled her too much.

"Jack?"

Silence.

"Yeah?"

"...Are we bad parents?" Maddie's voice was barely audible. Afraid of the answer.

Jack didn't immediately swoop in with his reply, a blind assurance that they were not bad parents. That they couldn't have known. It wasn't their fault, that this was unpreventable.

"...We might be," came the grim confession. Maddie wiped an eye before tears could freely flow.

"He's afraid of me." Maddie was barely able to get it out. She kept her eyes on her baby. Tiny parts of her continued to die with every slap of reality.

Jack said nothing to correct or reassure her of something different. He stayed silent as they both let their situation sink in. Their son...was a ghost. Danny Phantom. Danny Fenton, Danny Phantom. Looking at that snow white hair, and how physically similar he was...how terrible were they to not have noticed.

"What do we do now?" Maddie had to know. She squeezed her husband's hand. "How can we ever...continue? How am I supposed to live knowing-"

"Do you really think he did all those terrible things?" Jack half-interrupted her. Maddie swallowed hard. She hadn't really thought about that. But now that she knew that Danny was fine, that he was safe and okay and right in front of her on a steady recovery path, her thoughts were drawn to an entirely new and frightening question: was her son evil?

Regardless of anything, that ghost boy was her son no matter what (wow, that was still a lot to process). But the ghost boy...his track record of criminal behavior was long, nearly endless. Attacking the mayor, all those robberies, summoning the ghost king, ruining Christmas, so many various miscellaneous things. This was so unlike Danny. Before high school, Danny had never had any troubles in school. Not grades, not behavioral. He was a model student in every way, and this sudden change, this very violent and destructive change, scared her.

A sick feeling came over her. When Danny died, maybe he... _changed._ Maybe this really wasn't her sweet little baby anymore. But did Danny die? He never answered her question.

"Jack, is Danny dead?" Maddie asked her husband quietly. Jack paled, and he shook his head no immediately.

"Jazz said he became half ghost during the portal accident," he explained. Danny was half-ghost? That was...a bit better than the idea of her son dying without her nor his father noticing, but it was still chilling.

"So he's not truly a ghost," Maddie said slowly. "So in theory, he shouldn't be evil." Jack looked thoughtful as he picked his words.

"But given everything he's supposedly done...Do you think?" Jack dared not say the thought aloud. Neither of them wanted to believe it.

Danny her spectral nemesis, who attacked a mayor and brought Amity Park into the Ghost Zone, who consistently caused perhaps millions in property damage and injuries from those who couldn't escape the scene, who robbed banks. Danny her baby boy who was skipping class, had begun to snap at her and talk back, who was failing classes and constantly coming home late from his curfew. Danny the ghost boy, who had been seen rescuing people from burning buildings and who saved a school bus from driving off a cliff, who helped catch criminals. Danny the youngest member of the Fenton family, who would cook dinner without asking if his parents were in the lab too long and encouraged them to take a break and eat, who never forgot a birthday and who stood up for his friends no matter what.

No matter what form he was taking, no matter how much she shot at him as Phantom or scolded him as Fenton, he never looked at her maliciously or with true rage. Frustration and teenage annoyance, but she had never looked into blue or green eyes that made he feel as if he was truly, at his very core, evil.

"No," she shook her head. "I don't think there's any possible way."

"So what do we do? What was all of that, all of the robberies and the attacks," Jack began, and Maddie just continued to shake her head. Her head was throbbing from a lack of sleep and emotional exhaustion.

"I don't know," she confessed. "There has to be some reason. Some explanation. But I don't know it, we'll have to…" she trailed off. Maddie closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. Sleep sounded wonderful right now. She felt Jack's lips press against her temple in a gentle kiss.

"Let's focus on going home," Jack finally suggested.

"What's the chances of us all going home?" she questioned. Jack didn't reply. The unspoken answer was very, very unlikely.


	13. Hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 17: Hands

The unspoken answer was very, very unlikely. But until it was spoken, the answer was always no, right? So fuck it.

"Hey, can I primarily question Phantom?" Agent G asked. His partner looked at him skeptically, and the officer with them said nothing.

"No," Agent K replied. "Can't afford for you to make rookie mistakes." Agent G frowned.

"How am I ever supposed to learn?" he asked. "You'll be right there with me. Come on, I'll even write up the whole report."

"Phantom is a serious and dangerous threat," the other replied. "We're not leaving the questions to a rookie."

The elevator doors opened, and the trio walked towards the room. A nurse was waiting at the door for them, only giving a polite hello before opening it for them. Agent K just gave a brief nod before slipping inside, and Officer Snowden offered a thanks.

Agent G walked into the room behind his fellow agent and the officer, and he immediately saw Phantom. He didn't look nearly as bad as he had expected, though he could see bruising that had begun to heal around his throat. He had plenty of bandaging covering what he assumed to be surgical scars, and Phantom was alert. He sat up in bed, watching them as the lawyer, Ohmer, from the day before, stood with him.

To his surprise, Phantom's eyes were locked onto him specifically the second he entered. Looking at him strangely, almost as if...he recognized him? Would Phantom really recognize him from years ago? When he kind of saved Agent G from the Guys in White shooting at him? Heh. Kinda ironic. But Agent G was skeptical that Phantom really had gotten that good of a look at him then. Or maybe Phantom was taken aback by seeing an unintentional doppelganger.

"His jaw's wired shut," Ohmer spoke up. She pointed to the whiteboard and markers in Phantom's lap. "So we've been using this to communicate." Agent K grumbled in disgust. Phantom not being able to talk would mean that the entire interview would take much, much longer, since Phantom had to write every word out. There would be less body language to dissect, less visual cues. It was more work than Agent K was willing to do. This was a good opportunity.

"Ugh, of course," he muttered, adjusting his suit a bit with a tired sigh. Agent G nudged him, giving a half smile. Agent K stared at him coldly before making an annoyed sigh. "Go for it, rookie. But if you fuck this up, it's on you. And you're writing the report."

"Noted," the younger agent agreed.

Agent G eagerly grabbed one of the chairs, pulling it up to sit next to Phantom. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Phantom continue to stare at him with a raised eyebrow and slight awe. Curious. Agent G shrugged it off best he could, taking his seat and pulling his notebook out to take notes. He couldn't help but notice that Agent K was not doing the same, instead scrolling through his phone. Probably on Facebook again.

"Hey," Agent G began, feeling suddenly…awkward. He didn't think he'd get this far. Phantom stared at him. "So, um, I'm Agent G. I'm from the Guys in White." Phantom blinked at him, head jerking a bit as if that surprised him. "What do you want me to call you?"

Phantom picked up the whiteboard, still staring at him. But he soon broke the staredown to scribble out on the whiteboard.

_Phantom is fine._

"Cool, cool," Agent G nodded. He took a deep breath before flipping through his notebook. He had all of his questions written out on the first page, a number next to them. The rookie studied his questions before picking one to start with. Flipping to a new page, he wrote the number associated with the question before looking up to Phantom. "Do you remember when Amity Park was going through that overshadowing epidemic?"

Phantom cocked his head curiously. He seemed surprised by the question, but he nodded. Agent G took note of that before he continued.

"Do you know why they did that?" Agent G continued. "Why the ghosts were overshadowing people in such a mass wave?"

If he seemed surprised before, Phantom look drop dead shocked at this line of questioning. Agent G was sure that had his jaw not been wired shut, that Phantom would be staring open mouthed at him. His lips opened a bit, exposing the metal that was keeping him from being unable to properly say anything, and he made a noise, a clear "huh?" type of confused tone. Phantom stared at Agent G for a moment as he twirled the marker in his hand. He seemed hesitant and unsure.

"Please," Agent G spoke up. Phantom paused. "Just tell us what you know."

Phantom began to jot down on the whiteboard, and Agent G glanced at his companions. Officer Snowden had taken a free seat and was paying close mind. His coworker continued to stare at his phone, occasionally scrolling. He was sure that Agent K was still listening, but how much the man would pick up on the conversation was debatable.

Soon, Phantom turned the board around, and Agent G read it carefully.

_It was Walker and his goons. He's basically ghost police. He claimed that me bringing a human world item into the Ghost Zone was illegal, and he arrested me. I escaped, and he began overshadowing people as a ploy to get the town to hate me in hopes that I'd turn myself in if people here hated me._

Agent G wrote down what Phantom said into his notebook, word for word. He was silent as he processed that information. So Phantom was admittedly a wanted criminal in the Ghost Zone? That law didn't sound very just. But yet again, Agent G truly had no idea why that law was even in effect, if it was harmful. And Phantom's statement brought on several questions.

"Why did you escape?" he asked. Phantom studied him for a moment as he turned the board back around. He erased it with his hand before writing. Agent G in turn, studied Phantom. His hands were writing very confidently, no constant erasing and with little pause. He was sure of what he had to say.

_The entire sentencing is very unfair. No trial, no defense, nothing. It was just Walker telling me the law, which is bullshit btw, and him sentencing me to 1,000 years._

Holy fuck, that was a long time. Agent G nodded slowly as he, again, wrote down the statement word for word. Then again, ghosts were, sorta, immortal. Time meant nothing to them in that regard.

"What was the item?" Agent G asked. Phantom flipped the board around to write.

_It was a wrapped anniversary present for my mom from my dad, a ghost themed checkers game._

That definitely didn't seem worth such a long sentence. Phantom mentioned his parents too, and his parents post his death. This was something Agent G had never read about Phantom doing, mentioning his family or interacting with people like that. Although admittedly, on some level, it was creepy to think about Phantom haunting his old family. But he'd get back to that.

Based on the speed of the responses, Phantom seemed to be telling the truth. But of course, Agent G had no clue how he'd even begin to try and verify this story. He'd figure it out. For now?

"Do you know who all was overshadowed?" he asked. Phantom paused to seemingly think, but only for a moment before his hands moved the marker over the whiteboard.

_Some Casper High students, the mayor, several townspeople. Specific people: Mayor Montez, Paulina Sanchez, Dash Baxter, Lancer, Kwan Ishiyama, Star Thunder_

Agent G knew almost every single one of those names. He went to high school with many of them briefly. Ugh, verifying these stories would be a trip down cringey memory lane, but he still wrote down the statement, like the others, word for word. He wrote the number two before asking his next question.

"Do you know why the overshadowing ended? Like the incident?"

The look Phantom gave him was so sorrowful. He looked tired and distressed, but he wrote his answer regardless.

_He did what he set out to do. Everybody hates me. They want me dissected and gone._

"Oh honey," Ohmer spoke softly. The lawyer reached out to lovingly smooth the ghost's hair, and Phantom smiled at the touch. Agent G nearly forgot that he wasn't alone with Phantom in the room. Officer Snowden was watching on silent as a mouse, and Agent K was still looking at his phone.

Regardless, the answer was jotted down. He wrote the number three, and he glanced up at Phantom. The ghost was waiting for him expectantly.

"Do you know Frederich Isak Showenhower?"Agent G asked. Phantom looked a bit confused, staring at him with a bit of a frown. "He's more commonly known as Freakshow." Recognition lit up in his eyes, and he nodded. "Can you describe your relationship with him?"

_He brainwashed me using his scepter._

This was starting to hit unintentional gold. Nobody outside of the GIW and police knew the details of Showenhower's wild story. The media, the public, none of them knew about this crazy brainwashing story. Nobody knew about the scepter being his self-reported means to commit all the crimes, that ghosts were involved. Publicly, the man kept a tight lip on his crime. Very unusual, the criminals normally were very vocal about their side of the story. But not Showenhower. He was silent. Agent G wrote it down.

"Can you elaborate?" he asked. Phantom stared at him blankly. Agent G rephrased, "What do you mean by brainwashed? Can you describe the scepter?"

Phantom's eyes lit up in understanding, and he began to write.

_He had this red scepter with a crystal ball. He would hold it up to us, and give us orders. It was hard to fight. There was something to it that just made us obey him. I could break the spell sometimes, but he always knew where to find me. Bring me back. He said the scepter was this family heirloom, and that they used ghosts to entertain people in his circus. But that he found that using us to steal things was much more profitable, since he couldn't be connected to the crime._

Agent G nodded understandingly as he wrote down the answer. So far, this was very interesting. He was giving some confidential details.

"Can you tell me what happened to this scepter?" Agent G questioned. This was the one thing the ex-ringleader refused to tell them. It was information they had been trying to get from him for years now.

_It broke._

Agent G hummed curiously. Broken? Wouldn't Showenhower admit that though?

"Do you know where it is?" Agent G asked. Phantom thought for a moment.

_Map_

Agent G stared at the message before it clicked. Phantom was asking for a map. The rookie jumped from his seat, pulling his phone out. He opened the map application, and he handed it to Phantom.

The ghost zoomed out, and Agent G watched his every move. He shifted to the train tracks, and he followed them. After traveling down the railroad for a bit, scrolling, Phantom stopped at a bridge. He studied it for a moment before making a circle with his finger.

"Around here?" Agent G asked. Phantom nodded, and he picked up his board.

_Before the river, over the bridge. It fell somewhere in there._

Agent G nodded. He marked the spot made on his phone's map before tucking it back into his pocket. All of this was fitting into a new puzzle that he was theorizing.

"You mentioned your parents," Agent G began, but paused at the immediate shift in Phantom's entire demeanor. He stiffened and looked at him with that deer in the headlights stare. "What can you tell me about them?"

Unlike before, Phantom didn't make any movements to right anything. He stared at Agent G, his chest heaving a bit as if in a panic. Like a human suspect. This was interesting. Phantom really did mimic humans a lot, as his reports would often detail. Was this a defense mechanism? Possibly, given Phantom's self-reported age.

Agent G waited patiently, and the ghost finally bowed his head to stare at his whiteboard. His hand tapped the marker against his knee nervously.

"You don't have to answer anything you don't want to answer," Officer Snowden finally spoke up. Phantom glanced up at her, before turning to look to Ohmer. The hospital lawyer nodded in agreement.

"Yup. Don't have to answer anything," she confirmed.

Phantom looked a bit more relieved, and he jotted down on the whiteboard.

_No comment._

Hm, this was the first question Phantom refused to answer. Was it too personal? Agent G's idea wracked for more theories. Likely to protect family, since he reportedly was interacting with them despite his death. Speaking of.

"Can you tell me when you passed away?" he asked.

Phantom's face scrunched up a bit, obviously hurt. He shook his head no. Agent G hummed lightly as he made that note. Fair enough. That was very personal. He made his final note and flipped through his notes. He had a lot of information to dissect now, and a lot more details to work with and compare and contrast.

"That's all I have for now, but I'll be returning soon," Agent G replied. Phantom stared at him curiously. The agent searched through his pocket to pull out a card. "If you have anything else to tell me, please feel free to call." He paused. "I'm sure a nurse can help you, or your lawyer."

Phantom nodded, turning the card over in his hand. The ghost quickly scribbled on his whiteboard.

_No arrest?_

"By law, you cannot be released into their custody until you're discharged from the hospital," Ohmer clarified. Agent G nodded to confirm.

"We'll be here to formally read you your charges and rights, the usual come your discharge day," Agent G explained. Phantom looked visibly deflated, but gave a short nod as he slumped over. Ohmer smoothed his hair out.

"Hey, Agent K. We're done here," Agent G announced. The other officer looked startled, standing. Agent G was already out the door, along with Officer Snowden. The officer said her goodbyes and was already walking away.

"Wait, already?" Agent K demanded to know as he followed the two out. Agent G was still re-reading his notes as he jotted down more extras before he forgot the details as he waited for his partner to catch up. The rookie shrugged.

"We'll be back," Agent G assured him. "But right now, I have some other folks that I want to talk to. Try to collaborate Phantom's claims." Agent K studied him curiously. "And question him based on that, see what kind of lies we can catch him in and what evidence we can truly confront him with."

"Sounds like a giant waste of time, doing all this back and forth," Agent K complained. Agent G shrugged.

"Then you can wait in the car," he offered, ignoring Agent K's frown. Agent G re-read the list of names Phantom gave him. "But right now, I have a few people I'd like to talk to." Agent K gave a begrudging sigh.

"Fine, let's go whatever you're going to go," Agent K finally agreed. "Long as you're writing the report."

Agent G grinned. Finally, a chance to get some real answers.


	14. Anniversary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 21: Anniversary

Finally, a chance to get some real answers. Though they wouldn't likely come until later that day, something that pained Jack to his core. Those possible answers were the only thing Jack could think about as they prepared for bed, ignoring that it was nearly seven in the morning. Jack had already put his pajamas on and brushed his teeth, curled up into bed and was simply waiting for Maddie to join him. For now, he idly played an app game on his phone. A simple crossword puzzle game, to get his mind off things. He could hear the sink running as she was doing her normal bedtime routine.

"Did you know that Tucker and Sam knew?" Maddie's voice suddenly asked. Jack glanced up. He could see the vague outline of Maddie in her pajamas, washing her face.

"...Yeah. Jazz said that Danny told her that they were there when it happened," he replied somberly. He continued his game quietly before giving up, putting his phone on the nightstand.

This wasn't right. Neither one of them should be at home, preparing for bed. They should be there, with Danny. Right now he was all alone in the hospital room. But they were asked to leave and return later, due to the Guys in White arriving for questioning. They couldn't talk themselves into staying.

 _"Sorry, but we'd only be allowed to let family stay."_ That statement still echoed and hurt his heart.

"Do you think Danny will be okay?" Jack asked. "Alone? With the Guys in White? What if they hurt him? What if they just, what if." A looming dread filled him, and he began to get out of bed. "I'm going to get him."

"Jack, don't," Maddie peeked her head out of the bathroom, giving him a frown. She looked exhausted, and Jack felt sorry for her. He and Jazz had managed to take a short nap after Ohmer had to go home for the night. Maddie had yet to sleep. "We have to play it by ear. We can't just take him. It'll only make things worse and make everybody suspicious."

Jack still remained sitting up, his feet on the ground and already slipped into his slippers. But he didn't move anymore. Just yet anyway.

"Our son's _alone_ in there," his voice was quiet. Maddie's lower lip quivered, and she walked to him, immediately wrapping her arms around him.

"No, Ohmer assured us that they can't take him, and that she would be with him that entire questioning," she reminded him. "It'll be okay. We'll get some rest, take a shower, and go back refreshed."

He knew she was right. It was likely already so suspicious to the hospital how emotionally involved they were getting. Especially the light switch flip of them barely interested in doing anything other than dropping Phantom off to immediately requesting to see him at every opportunity. They really had no proper, rational reasoning that they could say to explain it, no logical sense as to why a ghost hunter would suddenly care so deeply about a ghost. Not even if they confessed the truth, that they were Danny Phantom's parents and had a right to see their child. They'd likely be under immediate investigation for child abuse. Ohmer's words about how the Guys in White would take Phantom from them under the reasoning for child abuse echoed in his mind.

"We should go first thing," Jack said slowly. "After some sleep." Maddie smiled sadly, and she kissed his temple. She returned to the restroom to finish getting ready, and Jack reluctantly tucked himself back under the covers.

Nobody in the Fenton household slept well.

* * *

Maddie was still fast asleep when Jack woke up. He groggily checked the time. It was only a bit past noon, and the bright shining of the sun confirmed it. He closed his eyes to ignore it, trying to process what he was going to do.

The entire previous day? Several hours? It felt like a fake blur, a terrible dream, despite being painfully aware that it all happened. His son's bed was covered in his own blood, hospitalized for a badly broken jaw, and, oh yeah, was Danny Phantom. _The_ Danny Phantom, public enemy number one. A ghost Jack considered his arch enemy.

Quietly, Jack began to slip out of bed. He couldn't just lay there anymore. Being in bed, doing nothing but thinking. He got his phone and quietly left the room as to not disturb Maddie.

Downstairs, he could smell coffee being brewed. Jazz was awake? Already?

Indeed, he came around the corner to see his daughter at the kitchen table, scrolling on her phone. The coffee brewer actually was off but the pot was full of freshly made coffee. Jazz had a cup poured for her in front of her. Jack couldn't help but take note of how some of the ectoplasm in the kitchen had been cleaned up, and that there was a faint smell of a cleaning solution with the undertone of a sea salt like scent. His eyes landed on the partly-filled sink, with ectoplasm-soaked cleaning cloths and a sponge in the water. Jazz had tried to clean up a bit.

The teen glanced up at him with a soft smile.

"Hey, do you want some coffee?" she asked.

"Desperately," Jack tried to lightly joke. He moved to grab a cup and the pot, careful to avoid stepping in...essentially his own son's ghost-blood. It was hard to keep his mind off of as he poured his cup, adding in a small bit of sugar. "I can see that you tried to clean up a bit." He hesitated a bit. "Thank you."

"I couldn't sleep," Jazz confessed. "Figured I'd get a small head start on it. I know how it can stain."

"Yeah," was all Jack could bring himself to say.

"It's such a pain," Jazz continued, her tone whining a bit. "I don't know how Danny's always been able to get it all out." Jack tried to ignore that, sipping his coffee as he moved to sit with her. "I tried to mix the solution like he'd tell me to, yaknow? Water and laundry detergent, with about a cup of salt and a cup of baking powder, mixed really well, and then scrub with a magic eraser. I'm starting to think he's pulling my foot. He's always been able to clean the lab and stuff so much quicker than me."

A bit of relief washed over him, and he took a larger drink. In all of this, he had nearly forgotten how much Danny cleaned the lab. It was one of his main chores. Of course he'd know how to clean it fairly well, he's done it for years. But it still slowly ate away at him.

"...How often has Danny had this kind of...bleed out in the house? Has it ever?" Jack had to ask.

"I don't know," Jazz lightly shrugged her shoulders. "I can't answer that. Your best bet is to honestly? Start making a list of questions. And wait until you and Danny can talk about it."

Jack scratched the back of his head with a depressed sigh. Those doctors said he'd be wired shut for months. He couldn't bear the thought of waiting months to get answers. Especially when there was a chance Danny may never-no, no, no. He wasn't going to entertain that idea. It made him sick. Jack refused to let Danny be taken from him.

The doorbell rang, and Jazz jumped from her seat, with an oddly cheerful "I'll get it!" as she exited the kitchen. Jack rubbed his eyes as he forced himself to take another sip of coffee.

"Jazz, what's going on, where's Danny?" Sam's voice was clearly heard, and Jack hated that reminder. He hated knowing that Danny was so afraid of him and his mother that he seemingly only put his trust into his friends.

"Something happened," Tucker's voice was there too, and his voice was accusatory and concerned. "It was a ghost, wasn't it?"

"...Sorta...Come into the kitchen," Jazz told them, and soon she reappeared. His son's friends froze when they saw him, staring at him with wide eyes.

"O-oh, hi Mr. Fenton!" Tucker squeaked. Jack could only stare at them, a bit disheartened. All the lies they probably told him to cover for Danny, because of…

"Um, we heard Danny was gone, and we wanted to come and-" Sam began, but Jack cut her off. The last thing he wanted to hear right now was another lie.

"I know everything," he told her. The goth looked at him, a bit puzzled. Tucker mirrored the look, but after a glance at Jazz, seemed to have caught on.

"...How much is everything?" Tucker asked.

"I know Danny's Phantom," Jack clarified. Tucker visibly swallowed nervously, and Sam's face fell. She took a step forward, jerking a chair out so she could sit. The goth was visibly shaking.

"It must be bad," Sam's voice croaked out. "Jazz, _please._ What happened?"

Tucker slipped into a seat, as well as Jazz into the final one. And she began to tell them. Jack talked as well early on into the story, but as she got to her coming home, he fell silent and simply listened as well. Danny's friends were surprisingly quiet as well, even though with the more they spoke, the more horrified and pale both grew. Sam had begun to tear up near the end, and she had resorted to grabbing a paper towel to clutch in her hand. Tucker had hung his head at some point, staring at the table instead of anybody.

And soon, she finished, but nobody said anything. An uncomfortably painful silence washed over, and Jack shifted in his seat. He took another drink of coffee, if nothing, just for something to do.

"I'm terrible," Tucker finally confessed. "I went to bed. I heard my phone ringing, but I ignored it. It wasn't Danny's ringtone, so I assumed it was spam…"

"At least you were asleep," Sam croaked out. "My phone died because you know what I was distracted by? A _fucking video game_. Danny got hurt, and I didn't even really know because I was so wrapped up in a _video game_."

"I knew something was wrong though," Tucker replied, and Jack could tell instantly that guilt was eating at him. "My mom asked me if I had seen Danny, because Mr. Fenton called and asked about where he was. And I just assumed it was a normal routine ghost thing and thought nothing more of it. I should have known, I should have checked."

"No, it's nobody's fault," Jack interrupted. The kids stared at him, and he felt a pang at the hypocrisy of his own words. It was, in all honesty, his fault at the end of the day. But for now, he just needed these poor kids to be relieved of guilt that they weren't responsible for. "No matter what any of you could have done, no matter when you showed up, what happened or anything, it wouldn't have changed much. Mads and I just...we couldn't help him." They were helpless to do anything for him, and it somehow felt much more different than when Jazz had to go to the hospital for breaking her leg when she tried to jump off a tree swing, or when Danny was taken into the ER after crashing his bike into a tree.

"He would have needed professional help. There was no way we could have repaired his jaw. This kind of thing was inevitable." Jack swallowed hard. In reality, he was lucky that it was just a broken jaw that finally made his son go to the hospital. Ghost fights were often, in his viewings of them, violent and dangerous. "It's just…" Would it have been better for Danny to go as Fenton, where Jack and Maddie could be there for him the entire time, yet investigated for all the terrible injuries that could only have come from another person? Or for Danny to go as Phantom, where he was alone and at risk of being arrested but ultimately could be discharged and come home?

Jazz seemed to have followed his train of thought, and she nodded.

"It was bound to happen one day," she said slowly. "But everything leading up to this is a moot point. It happened. We can't change it. We need to focus on how we're going to get out of this."

Another black tear ran down Sam's cheek, but she quickly wiped it away with a sniffle.

"No, no, you're right," she reluctantly agreed. "Tucker and I will go visit him and-"

"No," Jazz replied firmly.

"What do you mean _no?_ " Tucker frowned. "We're going to go see him. He's our best friend."

"It's too suspicious for you to just waltz in and request to see Phantom," Jazz protested. "Nobody but us, the hospital, Vlad and the Guys in White know. This is a tightly kept secret. They'll want to know why and how you know." Sam shot her a nasty look.

"So? I'll find some kind of an excuse!" she tried to argue.

"Sam, Jazz is right," Jack cut in. Sam's face fell, and her lip quivered again. "I know you want to see him. Both of you." He gestured to the two of them. "But it's already raising a few red flags that Mads and I are becoming so involved. We have a somewhat reason, because we're ghost hunters and Danny…" Jack didn't want to say it. Nobody else said it either. "Jazz tagging along is...reasonable enough only because she's our kid."

"But you guys are so connected with Danny," Jazz continued. The friends stared at her in disheartened anger. "People will connect the dots, or at least be suspicious. Especially if you're showing up without Danny."

"So what? I just have to sit quietly on the sidelines and wait?" Sam asked. With every word she grew more hysterical and upset. Tucker lightly nudged her, and she calmed a bit, but still stood up. "I'm not going to do that! I'm visiting Danny!"

"Sam, Jazz may be right," Tucker spoke up. His thumbs twiddled anxiously as the goth stared at him in absolute disbelief. "Look, we both care about Danny. And the best thing we can really do is just, help him lay low. His presence is already so hot, and the Guys in White are super involved, we just...we need to just provide support from the sidelines this time."

"There has to be some way-" Sam began to protest, only to be accidentally cut off.

"What's going on?" Maddie's sleepy voice called out.

Everybody glanced to see the huntress coming downstairs, dressed in her traditional blue jumpsuit with heavy bags under her eyes, a small box on her hip. She scanned the room, and when she saw her son's friends, her face fell a bit. While by now, they knew that they knew, but it was still a reality neither parent was ready for.

"We're just...trying to figure out what to do," Jack said slowly. Maddie just gave a short nod. A cell phone rang out. Everybody glanced to check, and Maddie stared at her phone. She pressed to let the unfamiliar number go to voicemail.

"Kids, would you give Mr. Fenton and I a moment?" Maddie requested. The teens all shared a glance, and they nodded.

The chairs rustled and creaked as the trio got up, and they went into the living room. Almost immediately, there was a conversation, though Jack couldn't make out those details. Maddie set the box on the table, sighing softly as she leaned over to lightly peck Jack's temple.

"Happy anniversary," she said quietly. Jack felt his heart drop. For the first time in twenty years, he had actually remembered. He had a gift that Jazz had allowed him to keep hidden and wrapped in her room, and they had actual plans. Of course, right now, Maddie was supposed to be hours away at the college tour, though a huge perk of working from home was that they could, and had planned, on going away when she got back. A fun week long trip to investigate a haunted abandoned town the next state over, camping and exploring.

But with all of this...he had completely forgotten.

"Happy anniversary," he replied. Maddie slipped into the newly free seat next to him. He scooted his cup to her. "Do you want some coffee?" She simply nodded, taking a long sip from his cup. They always enjoyed their coffee the same way. It was kind of nice.

"I had Danny hide it in his room for me," she told him. The huntress glanced down at her hands. "It was in his closet. Along with all those weapons we thought we lost." Maddie sniffled, rubbing her eyes. "I was going to call him and have him give it to you today but…"

"We're not leaving," Jack stated the obvious. Maddie nodded immediately. Her cell phone rang again, and again she sent it to voicemail.

"Of course not," she replied. She rested her chin in the palm of her hands as she scooted closer to the table. Jack knew her deep-thinking look. "I just...How could we not know? Not notice? Or even suspect. It's no wonder Phan-no wonder Danny would just get whatever he pleased. He knows all the pass codes."

"We're not the only ones who didn't see it," Jack reminded her and himself. Maddie frowned.

"But we're his _parents._ We're _supposed_ to know these things," she whispered. The phone rang, and Maddie ignored it once more almost immediately. "We see him _every day_. He was supposed to be able to tell us."

Jack didn't really have any answers for her. He simply shrugged half-heartedly. Why would Danny tell them? Why would he tell his parents the ghost hunters that said parents hurt him so badly, hurt him so often? Despite them both loving him with every fiber of their being, the love got lost in the worst translation and caused Danny to truly doubt if they'd love him. Of course they would. But it hurt that he didn't believe that.

"Do you think he can forgive us?" Maddie questioned.

Jack tried to think, but it was interrupted as Sam skidded into their kitchen.

"The hospital's on the news," she told them. "Ghost attack."

Maddie's eyes widened, and she looked at her missed calls. The same number, constantly leaving voicemails. The number called again, but this time, Maddie accepted.

"Hello?" Maddie greeted hesitantly. Jack strained to hear what was said, but he could only hear that it was a feminine voice. His wife stood, and Jack copied her actions as he watched her closely. "Oh, yes. Yes, we'll be right there! Immediately! I'm so sorry, we're on our way."

Maddie hung up, putting the phone in its pocket on her jumpsuit belt.

"That was the hospital, there's a ghost attack," she said. Jack knew the drill. In a flash, they had their weapons of choice and were out the door. There was no time to lose and a lot of work to be done.


	15. Finals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 15: Finals
> 
> Also for those curious since we literally about to knock at next Dannymay's door, this story has about 10 more planned chapters.

There was no time to lose and a lot of work to be done. Agent G continued to comb over his notes as his co-agent reluctantly followed the GPS. They didn't speak, even though Agent G could tell that his coworker was irritated at driving around. Another duo of agents were sitting around the hospital waiting room, watching TV on their phones or doing paperwork on a company laptop. But thankfully, that wasn't them today. It was refreshing being able to walk around and talk to people, rather than try to figure out what other trashy, mediocre show he was going to half-heartedly sink hours of his time into.

The neighborhood was a typical city one, with cars parked on the street and some in short driveways. The homes looked nice, and Agent G could tell that this was definitely one of the upper class areas.

"Sure you're not just gonna wait in the car?" Agent G half-joked as the coworker pulled into a free spot on the street, right in front of the house number that they had managed to find. Luckily, it was one of the addresses that was noted as part of the case file, in terms of the background information Paulina Sanchez had given about herself to the original case author. Agent K grumbled, putting the car in park

"Nah, you're still on your trial run, I have to stick with you," he complained. "Like disgustingly sticky gum permanently stuck on my shoe."

"Ah, I love hanging out with you too, man," Agent G replied sarcastically. He unbuckled his seat and got out of the car, immediately making his way up the sidewalk to a stoop.

Agent K brought his hand up to the door to knock on it. It took less than a minute for a tall, mustached man to answer the door. Nobody ever expects officers at their door, and he stared at them. But he remained fairly polite.

"Hello, can I help you?" he asked hesitantly.

"We're Agent K and Agent K. We'd like to speak to your daughter," Agent K informed him.

The man studied them, suspicious. Agent G guessed that this was Paulina's dad. Likely an overprotective type.

"Is she in trouble?" he asked.

"No, no!" Agent G quickly assured him. "We're just following up on a previous report, from the Overshadowing Epidemic."

Mr. Sanchez looked a bit puzzled, but he simply nodded. He moved to the side for the agents to come in, which they did and stood in an entryway. Mr. Sanchez went to the bottom of the stairs nearby, shouting up.

"Paulina! Can you come down?"

"I'm studying for finals, Papa! I'll be down in a moment!" a familiar voice replied.

"Now, please. There's some officers here to talk to you."

Silence for several seconds. The agents heard somebody walking around above them, hurrying to the stairs. Agent G saw the familiar face of his old classmate peek around the top of the stairs down. Paulina froze upon seeing the agent. She curiously cocked her head to the side before she started going down the stairs. She stopped halfway, nervously glancing from agent to agent.

"Um, hello?" she questioned, her voice a bit shaky. Agent G didn't blame her. It was always intimidating seeing law enforcement at your door. Especially when one was an old classmate. He immediately flipped his notebook open to make notes.

"Hey, Miss Sanchez. We just have a few questions for you, about an incident that occurred about a year ago," Agent G spoke up. His partner remained silent as he talked. "Concerning the Overshadowing Epidemic?"

She visibly relaxed upon the question and realizing that nobody was here for an arrest. Paulina nodded, descending the rest of the stairs and skipping the last one to land on the floor in front of the two agents.

"I spoke with officers before, close to when it happened," Paulina told them.

"I know, but we just have some follow up questions," Agent G assured her. The high schooler nodded, bouncing lightly in place as she waited. "Do you believe that you were overshadowed?"

"I know I was overshadowed," Paulina said firmly. Any anxiety she had seemed to be gone. Agent G took detailed note of it all.

"Can you explain how you knew?" he asked.

"I had all the signs, like being cold afterwards, loss of time and super tired, I slept literally like, fourteen hours when it was done. I also saw the ghost leaving me," she replied. "And the ghost boy saved me too."

"Can you specify who or what you mean by ghost boy?" Agent G questioned.

"Danny Phantom," she explained. "He made the ghost overshadowing me leave, and he protected me when that ghost began to go like, crazy and started attacking."

"Did you recognize the ghost that overshadowed you?"

Paulina shook her head no. She went from bouncing in place to a casual back and forth rock as she answered questions. The girl paused before shrugging.

"Well, kinda," she confessed. "It was one of those ghosts that looked like they were from a SWAT team or something, a lot of them looked alike."

"Do you know why you were overshadowed?" Agent G asked. The question clearly took her by surprise, and she thought for a moment. Paulina was quiet for several seconds. It turned into a minute, then two. Agent G waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts.

"So like...when I was overshadowed, I don't remember a lot of what I did," she said slowly. "I don't remember school, being with my friends or family, much of anything. There's some parts that I can like, vaguely recall, but…" Paulina paused once more, staring at the agent. Agent G nodded, encouraging her to continue on. "Some of what I do remember doesn't really feel real, like it was a dream. Cause it just doesn't really make sense to me."

"Please, describe what you can remember," the young agent encouraged. Paulina lightly bounce as she rocked, but she did.

"I think I remember talks of like...some kind of ghost conspiracy?" she began. "Like I don't really, like, totally remember seeing anything, but I felt like I was in several meetings? And by that, I mean like, we were talking about what to do, only it wasn't me talking. It was the ghost talking."

"Do you remember what was being said?" Agent G's heart pounded excitedly at this information this girl seemingly assumed was just useless dream fog.

Paulina glanced at the ceiling as she thought, trying to gather what she could make sense of time she lost nearly a year ago.

"Not really," she admitted, her shoulders drooping a bit. "I only really remember that Dash was the one who talked the most during the meetings."

That was incredibly disappointing. He really was hoping that she had something more. But it still shed the proper light on the evidence he had towards his new theory.

"Dash Baxter?" Agent G guessed. That name was already on his list. Paulina nodded. Well, he now knew who was next on his list of people to interview.

"Yeah," she verbally confirmed. "He's my boyfriend."

"Do you know where we can meet him today?" Agent G asked. She nodded her head once more.

"Yeah, he's grounded cause he got in trouble at school for shoving this kid, Danny, in a locker, so his dad's making him do chores all weekend," Paulina replied. "I can give you his address."

"Please." He handed her notebook and pencil, and Paulina pulled her cell phone out. She scrolled for Dash's contact info before writing down his address. "Thank you," Agent G smiled warmly at her, jotting his last note before closing his notebook. He pulled out a GIW business card to hand her, with the agency's number and address. The girl took it, curiously looking it over. "If you can remember anything else, please feel free to give me a call. My agent extension number is seven."

"I will," she promised. She slipped the card into her pocket, and Agent G gave a nod to Mr. Sanchez.

"Thank you for your time," he spoke to him. Mr. Sanchez nodded, and he reached out to wrap a protective arm around Paulina, squeezing her lightly.

"Not a problem," Mr. Sanchez replied.

Agent G opened the door, and the two agents slipped out, with a final goodbye from Mr. Sanchez as the man closed the door behind them.

"Let me guess." They had barely made it five steps away from the front door when Agent K spoke up. "We're going to the Baxter home."

"You got it!" Agent G replied cheerfully. "I think I'm onto something significant here."

"Oh really?" Agent K half-hummed. He opened the driver's door of their spotless white car. The agent buckled in as he mostly spoke to himself. "Heh, rookies."

"Come on, even you have to admit that this is more interesting than sitting around, twiddling your thumbs," Agent G nudged him before he buckled in. Agent K didn't reply.

He just made an irritated grumble as he started the car. Agent G quickly punched in the address. It wasn't far from here at all, barely three blocks away. Good, it wouldn't be an annoyingly long drive.

He pulled his work phone out, checking for messages. He already had an email reply and a confirmation that there was going to be a search in the area Phantom specified. Nice, things were going underway. He just had to hope that it wouldn't take days to find something, or that it wasn't a goose chase. But something in his gut told him that they'd find that scepter.

"So what's this significant thing you're thinking?" Agent K asked. Agent G glanced up from his phone, putting it back into his pocket.

"Oh, finally coming around?" Agent G teased. Agent K grunted.

"No. I'm more interested in why you're dragging me all over town to talk to teenagers," he replied shortly.

"Because there's something deeper at play here," Agent G explained. "Something's up. I've read those case files. There's just something missing, like this final piece of a puzzle that'd really tell me what's up. I want to know what it is."

"And those answers are gonna come to you from teenagers?" Agent K's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Hey, don't underestimate teenagers," his coworker protested. "They do some pretty amazing things, you're just not paying attention to any of it."

"I'll pay attention when they actually impress me."

The young agent frowned, but he didn't comment. He stared out the window as they pulled up on another street, in front of yet another home in the city. The street was fairly void of cars, most folks seeming to have their own driveway. A nice neighborhood, in the same spirit as Paulina's.

A familiar blond guy immediately caught his eye in the front yard of the house as the duo stepped out of the car. He was on his hands and knees, pulling weeds in flower beds that covered the area around the front porch. An older balding man worked nearby, trimming tree branches. Agent G already knew that this was Dash, and the man was most likely his father. But, you always had to be sure, and he approached the fence, resting a hand on the gate.

"Hello, are you Dash Baxter?" he called out.

Both men turned their attention to him curiously.

"...Yeah?" Dash replied. He looked sweaty and miserable.

"I'm Agent K, and this is Agent G, we're from the Guys in White," his coworker introduced themselves. Dash's face instantly dropped, staring anxiously at them. The older man left the tree to walk over closer to Dash. "Do you mind answering a few questions?"

"About the Overshadowing Epidemic," Agent G clarified. The teen glanced up at his dad, who simply gave a nod at him. The agents took this as permission to open the gate and slip into the yard.

"Take a break, talk to them, I'll get us something to drink," Mr. Baxter told his son, patting his shoulder. Dash gave a deep sigh of relief, getting to his feet and brushing the dirt off his jeans. He pulled his gloves off and used the bottom of his shirt to wipe sweat off his face. Mr. Baxter glanced at the agents. "Do you fellas want a drink?"

"No thank you," Agent K declined. Agent G shook his head no, and Mr. Baxter slipped inside the house. Dash shifted from foot to foot, taking a moment to stretch.

"So, what's going on?" Dash questioned. "I already told other officers like, months ago about the overshadowing stuff."

"I know, but we just have some follow up questions," Agent G explained. Dash let out a light "Oh" noise. Agent G got his notebook and pen ready. "So, from what I understand, you believe you were one of the overshadowed?"

"Oh I was definitely overshadowed, I remember seeing the ghost leave and be knocked out of me, least twice," Dash confirmed, giving a nod to accompany his answer. "I also had to go to the doctor, cause I had a bunch of injuries. They thought that I was fighting while overshadowed, I had a sore back and wrists couldn't play football for almost two weeks."

"Do you know the ghost that overshadowed you?" Agent G asked.

"Definitely, definitely. It wasn't one of the other ghosts that were around, the ones that kinda looked like they were from some kind of ghost police?" Dash mentioned. Agent G raised a curious eyebrow. "This one was like, all white. Had a black hat, kinda had a skeleton face. Reminded me a lot of a movie gangster and talked like he was like, some kind of Texas ranger."

Hmm...This wasn't in the original report. But then again, nobody really seemed to ask the folks if they could identify specific ghosts who had overshadowed them. While the report claimed that everybody basically described the same sort of ghost, green and blue with shields and batons that most making comparisons to SWAT, army or police, this all white ghost was never mentioned.

"Do you know why you were overshadowed?"

Like the other teen, Dash seemed surprised by the question. He stared blankly at them for a few seconds.

"Pretty sure it was some kind of personal grudge. The ghost always seemed so pissed that I could literally like, feel his anger whenever I could basically...you know be lucid, I'd guess I'd call it?" Dash had begun to gesture his hands as he talked. "But it wasn't like that anger you get if like, your friend stole your girlfriend, and you wanna kick his ass. It felt more like you wanna just really fuck up somebody's life." Agent G hummed curiously, and he continued to make note.

"What all do you remember of your time being overshadowed?" Agent G asked. Dash took a minute to think.

"Well, not much, really," he confessed.

Agent G internally sighed. Well, this seemed like a dead end. But there had to be something more. This guy was overshadowed by a unique ghost that had a specific anger to him. His mind thought back to Phantom's statement.

_It was Walker and his goons. He's basically ghost police._

This unique ghost, this all white ghost… If Agent G could assume Phantom was telling the truth, he likely had a name for this ghost. He had to be Walker. The descriptions of all those other ghosts matched Phantom's statement, and this feeling that Dash had seemed to match the seeming motivation for this mass overshadowing.

"Not much?" Agent G lightly pressed. Paulina made reference to meetings, and she placed Dash there. There had to be something. "Anything that happened, anywhere you went, anything that was said, just tell me anything that you can remember."

"Well...being overshadowed? I don't really remember anything," Dash clarified. "But I remember this brief moment in between like...I guess overshadowings?" The young agent gestured encouragingly for him to continue, and Dash did. "Okay so like, I don't know where I was, but I remember that white ghost threatening Phantom." Interesting...

"How so?"

"He basically like, revealed that it was him behind a lot of stuff, real supervillain style. I remember just like...having an immediate headache and my body hurting so bad, I couldn't even open my eyes. I just laid there. Now I know that like, I was definitely overshadowed, but at the time, I was just super confused as to where I was and what was going on, but I heard the ghost say something about how like, he was gonna turn everybody against him until Phantom basically came begging to be in his prison. Cause like, that's where he belonged? And then he ordered a bunch of other ghosts to attack him, and then I think?" Dash took a second to think. "Pretty sure I got overshadowed again, cause I don't remember anything up until Phantom freed me, and that was apparently like days later. Then my mom took me to the doctor, and she had me talk to another Guys in White agent."

This was absolutely gold. This matched Phantom's report. This kid had no real relationship to Phantom, no human really had a relationship with Phantom. For his account to match Phantom's statements so well was unnerving, especially when it still never deviated from what Dash's first interview and statement said. It all still matched.

Phantom had told him the truth. Strange as it was, there really was some kind of anti-ghost conspiracy against, well, the town's celebrity ghost. Was it really all because of this supposed crime? This was assuming Phantom was telling the truth about his charge being so...seemingly petty. There had to be something deeper. But yet why would Phantom tell the truth about seemingly everything else, then lie about this one thing? His mind just continued to be overwhelmed with theories as he finished writing down the statement.

"Thank you," Agent G thanked him with a warm smile.

As before, he pulled out a business card, giving Dash the same talk about contacting them if he could remember anything more. Dash had shoved the card carelessly into a pocket, agreeing lightly before his dad had returned in time to bid them a goodbye as well. Agent K pulled his phone out as they stepped back out through the gate.

"So, uh, next," Agent G began to speak as he looked through his notes. Agent K gave a small noise, a "nope" sort of sound.

"Sorry rookie, I have business back at HQ. We gotta cut your adventure short," Agent K told him, scrolling through what Agent G assumed to be a message informing him of stuff.

Agent G opened his mouth to complain, but quickly closed it and said nothing. Agent K did have seniority over him, and this entire investigation wasn't really something they were assigned to anyway. His coworker had cases that he and Agent O were working on before the latter went on vacation that couldn't be left ignored either. Agent G only knew vague information about them, but he knew one of them was very important and was related to computer security.

He sighed, half-heartedly agreeing, and they made their way back to the main office. Least it gave him a chance to type everything up.

* * *

There were only twenty-six agents. No need for more than that given the amount of work available. The GIW headquarters had, according to Agent K, only recently grown into their own building, and Agent G was treated to many stories about the frustration of the government agency having to share office spaces with other companies within a building. Including one really far out story revolved around the insane lady from the lawyer's office below them that constantly threatened to sue them. The annoyance of having to drive to an entirely different building seven blocks away just to talk to people that had to rent out a lab from another space.

But despite the fancy new building, it was still fairly small. Again, they were a small department that didn't have the budget or popularity of other branches, like the Men in Black. Not outside of Amity Park. All agents shared an office space, six desks with six fairly average computers arranged in a cubicle fashion that agents had to share in an average room.

Agent G sighed in boredom as he spun in one of the chairs. There was another agent at a desk furthest from him, but Agent G had found out long ago that this particular agent made for terrible small talk or conversation. Incredibly weird, apparently did some time in the military but got discharged for a reason he never really elaborated on.

He turned once more to stare at the computer screen, where a word document was up and showing him what he had been working on. Not only where his notes type up on a separate document and stored away, but he had already neatly organized them onto this document, preparing his case report.

There was a brief knock at the door before it opened, not waiting for any kind of permission to walk in. A familiar employee named Sandra, not an agent but one of the field technicians, smiled warmly at him as she entered. He returned it. Agent G knew her well; they interacted a lot over the evidence she would collect at the ghost-related incident scenes.

"Agent G?" she spoke. Agent G gave a noise of acknowledgement. "I think I located the object you described."

Agent G immediately stood up, the case report completely forgotten about.

"Already?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, your directions were pretty spot on," she replied. Sandra paused. "Or well, assuming I found it."

"What do you mean?"

"So I didn't find any kind of scepter, but I found a lot of red glass shards, and it was next to a staff," she explained. "I already looked at the glass, and it doesn't really match the kind of glass you'd see in, say, beer bottles or vehicles."

This immediately piqued his interest. Those were definitely the parts of a scepter.

"Can I see?" Agent G asked.

"Yeah, yeah! Let me show you!" she eagerly agreed.

Agent G quickly saved his stuff and logged off the computer before following her down the hallway, and into what they primarily used for storing ghost artifacts that they found. At the table was another field technician, painstakingly trying to put what had to be thousand upon thousands of shards of glass pieces together. He was making impressive progress, Agent G had to admit, as he could already tell by the shallow bowl-like shape he had already managed to stick back in place, that it was exactly what he was looking for.

"Do you have the staff part?" Agent G asked.

"Right here!" Sandra informed him, and she gestured to another table, where the staff lay.

Instantly, it was familiar. While it had broken in half from the fall, and the bat itself had lost a wing, it was undoubtedly Showenhower's scepter. The object was in all of his promotional material and very distinctive. And he got giddy, as Phantom had been able to tell him exactly where it was. Phantom's account and Showenhower's account lined up nearly perfectly.

"There you are!" Agent K's voice interrupted his thoughts, and he sounded irritated. Agent G and the field tech turned to look at their coworker. "I was just about to leave without you. Hospital called. There's a ghost attack involving Phantom, we're rolling. _Now._ "

Agent G immediately bid his coworkers a quick goodbye and a promise to be back later. There was a ghost kid in the hospital waiting for them.


End file.
